HVPD II: Double Sided
by kawaiijilli
Summary: With Leon severly wounded and Emil kidnapped by the notorious mafia, Vrede en Liefde, the HetaliaVille Police Department must do everything in its power to get the consultants back in gear. Sequeal to HVPD: You're Under My Arrest Now
1. Chapter 1

**Hello guys! We are back in action! This was meant to be published a few months ago, but what do you do? Life happens! So to make up for the delay these chapters are gonna be the best possible, and kinda very long. We hope you enjoy the first chapter of HVPD 2!**

* * *

"Where is my brother?"

 **\\(*-*)/**

Leon was dazed from all of the morphine he had been given, and he blinked his eyes into focus and shook his mind from its fuzziness.

He didn't want to remember.

"Tell us what happened, Leon. Tell me where my brother, your lover, is." Lukas stared expectantly at the younger, and Leon had suddenly noticed his deeply furrowed brows. He was extremely worried.

"Um...Well...There's parts where it's fuzzy in between." Leon protested weakly, "So it won't be very accurate."

"Just tell us what you know, Leon." Lukas snapped in slight irritation.

"Well...uh...Em and I were spying on those guys, then one of them, Francis I think his name was? He heard us. But before he could see us we hid under a car. When Francis was gone, we decided to fetch something to eat. But of course, this drug dealer started yelling and his leaders knocked us out. When we came to, we were in this old abandoned diner, and the big guy...what was his name?...Daan! That's it, Daan! Daan was, like, explaining his whole evil plot and such. He planned to use Ice as ransom and try to force you, Lukas, to pay off the remaining amount of cash that your parents owe to him. Either that, or he'll find somebody else to sell Ice to. Then, they decided they needed to dispose of me so Daan shot me. I don't really recall the rest..." Leon decided it was best to leave out some of the other details; he didn't want to go through the pain of having remember Emil's tears. However, something else was nagging at the back of his mind. "Maybe something happened afterwards...? I can't recall... That's all I remember."

Lukas patted Leon's hand in a reassuring gesture. "That's about everything we need, thank you. We'll keep you updated on what we find while you're still hospitalized. It's time to take our leave now, please take all the time you need to recover, Wang." He slammed his fist down onto the surprisingly silent and usually boisterous Danish fiancé of his. "Come on, Mathias. We're going now."

Mathias simply nodded and clapped his hand on Leon's uninjured shoulder. "Get better soon, buddy. I'm going to miss having you work in the cafe." His lips curled into a sneaky grin. "Y'think I could sneak in your uniform into your room one of these days? I'm sure Emil would love to see that once he returns."

The Asian rolled his eyes, maintaining his apathetic composure. "See you, Mathias."

 **\\('-')/**

-One Week Later-

It hurt.

Being without him, that is.

It seriously, seriously hurt.

It felt like half of his heart had been ripped open and stabbed with four hundred and forty four thousand needles.

The pain in his arm (now numbed with the IV sac's contents) didn't even compare to the pain Leon was physically feeling from the loss of Emil and the paranoia he was feeling because of it.

-A Kind of Not Really Day by Day Schedule of Leon's Thoughts-

Day 1 and 2: "What if I, like, never find him? What if I find him, but he's dead?"

Day 3: "What if they're torturing him? What if they're, like, drugging him with their experimenting drugs and he goes crazy? What if he spontaneously combusts from the stuff they're injecting in him?"

Day 5 Through 7 "What if they're castrating him right now and his entrails are spilling out? In one of Kiku's games, one of the characters were sliced open... What if Ice was just dumped out to starve and rot...?! What if he decided to join them in their gang?!"

Oh, Leon.

The doctors came in everyday to check on his wounds, and although his body was in poor condition, his mind was even weaker. He was worried sick; he was worried and it was driving him mad.

One day, Lukas came to visit. The Norwegian was accompanied by Mathias, per usual. They had been asking their fair share of questions about Emil's last whereabouts, that of which Leon only remembered what happened a week and three days ago. But today...today was different.

Today, the Norwegian had burst in, completely out of breath. Usually it was the Dane that ecstatically crashed his way into the room. This time, Lukas had shoved Mathias out of his way, quickly hurling his thin frame into the room.

"Leon...the officers in the station...they have..." Lukas wheezed and his body writhed as a series of coughs overtook him. "...have...been looking around town...and we think we may...have found a new update on Emil's whereabouts."

Leon's jaw dropped open, then. "W-what is it? What happened?! Did you, like, find him?!"

Mathias hugged Lukas' body close and rubbed the latter's back soothingly. "No, we didn't find him yet. But we do have a couple photos and addresses that were uncovered in an old warehouse a little over forty eight hours ago. The addresses were handwritten in pen, so the forensic scientists compared its handwriting with a sample of Emil's. It wasn't a match. However; the handwriting does match a certain someone in the Vrede en Liefde."

Leon raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Who?"

"Francis Bonnefoy." Lukas finally managed to catch his breath, and he pulled out a small white envelope, the flap once opened before, the delicate floral scent of roses caressing the envelope in a passionate embrace. A scent that obviously belonged to the Frenchman. "The addresses and photos are encased in here. We managed to match up the places with their addresses, so all the other officers need to do is find out which one Ice is being held in." The envelope was tossed into the hospitalized Asian's hands.

"I still don't get it; how did you guys even find this stuff?" Leon asked, eyeing the envelope warily.

"You see, after you told us what happened, we went to the scene of the crime. Apparently Francis called in saying that there was, and I quote, 'a young man in this (horrible) condition downtown and he looks absolutely deathly!' After that call, the Captain sent Luke, Lovino, Antonio, and I off downtown to rescue you! It was a search-and-rescue mission, as they call it! I was so scared for you and Emil, man! When we found you nearly dead, we all freaked and made sure you got to the hospital super quick!" Mathias gestured to the room around him.

"Does the Captain know that Francis is...?" Leon trailed off.

"No, she doesn't know that he's part of the Vrede en Liefde. We've made sure to keep that detail silent." Mathias replied.

"You were in intensive surgery for a long time," Lukas started, "About a week's time approximately. If you didn't have bandages wrapped around you, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Ja; but I have no idea how you could've gotten them around yourself, that gunshot was pretty severe."

Leon's eyebrows furrowed. "Bandages? I don't remember any bandages, let alone doing them. I could barely move my body."

"Well then...Maybe Emil did 'em!" Mathias' expression brightened up several notches.

"Shut it, Anko. Emil can't bandage anything; he can't take the sight of blood." Lukas flicked the Danish man's forehead, and the latter elicited a small squeak in protest.

I could say differently judging by how he had been acting when a certain someone shot me down. "Enough about this, already! I still don't understand what's going on, and I don't know where Em is!" Leon interjected, silencing the Nordic pair's bickering.

"After you told us what happened, we decided to search Emil's last known whereabouts, which was the diner you had been found in. For the first couple of days we couldn't find anything. There was nothing but crates and boxes in the other room, all empty. The floor was polished and clean and the walls were in perfect condition, even though they weren't in use anymore."

"Super OCD, wouldn't you say?" Mathias scratched the back of his neck and chuckled.

"Whatever, just shut up, Dane." Lukas stabbed his elbow against his gut, earning a pained yelp from the other. "Anyway...after actually scraping the whole diner through, checking under crates and boxes, peeling away the tiles on the floor and such, we found this envelope jutting out from in between a pair of crates near the back exit. There isn't an actual time stamp on the evidence, but if we had to guess, we'd have to say that it was left there a night or two before we had gotten to the scene to investigate. And after looking at the contents, we decided it was best to come to you."

"Am I actually going to be like one of you guys? Officers?" Leon asked hopefully. "Can I actually search with you guys for Ice?"

Lukas and Mathias exchanged an expression of somber agreement before the Norwegian started speaking. "I'm sorry, Leon. But your injuries are severe. We can't let you on the field with your condition like that."

Leon tried to "But I can heal! I'll heal quickly! I'll-"

Lukas shook his head. "Leon, we won't drop you from your work as a consultant, but we won't let you work for the time being. You're hurt, and even if you did heal, you aren't part of the force and the safety of others is always our top priority."

"But-"

"The answer is no, Leon. You need rest." Lukas frowned ever so slightly, breaking his apathetic visage.

Leon glared at the Mathias and Lukas; this wasn't fair! It surely wasn't! "Whatever; I, like, don't know why you gave me this envelope if I can't help out."

"Because we're counting on you to figure out which building this dirty gang is hiding my baby bro in." Lukas patted the injured boy's shoulder. "You're the only one here right now that knows what happened in that diner, and you know what type of people these gang members are like. Use your instincts; what happened to that smartass Asian brain of yours?" Lukas deadpanned, which was a surprising feat considering the choice of words he had just used.

"Hm." Leon lowered his gaze to the envelope in his hands. "I guess I could see what I can think of..."

"Great!" Mathias grinned widely. "We're counting on you, buddy!"

With that, Lukas and Mathias closed the door behind them, leaving Leon alone with the sickeningly sweet perfume of roses and an envelope. There were a little more than a few pictures held inside, but how was he supposed to know which one held Emil?

He peeled open the envelope with distaste. "And so the search begins..."

-linebreaklinebreakbokuhetaliawahahahaha-

You're going to be traveling with us for a while...

 _It won't be the cleanest of places, or the most comforting or safe, but you're going to have to stay here nonetheless if you want to stay breathing and beating when you see your family again._

The words Daan had told him still rang intimidatingly in his mind.

It was approximately two weeks since Leon had died.

It was approximately two weeks, three days, and eighteen hours since he was taken away by the Vrede en Liefde and has arrived at this small room...thing. Francis told him that it was the closet of an abandoned hotel near the edge of downtown.

Emil couldn't really tell. It was dark, everything was hazy and fuzzy in his head, and his limbs moved sluggishly to the point where it would be better if he didn't move at all. Daan barely visited him, Francis, on the other hand, always did. But they would never stay for long. Emil always heard their hushed voices behind the locked wooden door, or what he could make out from it in his drug-clouded mind.

It was always the same routine, the same cycle each day. He would wake up, eat breakfast, and if he resisted eating he was injected with drugs to make him compliant and was forced food into his system. In the afternoon, one of them came in to give him lunch, and after he finished eating, he was injected with sleeping drugs. For most of the day he would sleep; dreams consisted of a meaningless white that blinded his mind.

He had lost his cellphone on the day he was taken, so calling or texting anybody for help wasn't an option. Besides, his fingers wouldn't stop twitching or they would just fall limp from the drugs he had been given, in other words, they were incapable of any function, period.

In the evening, Emil was left alone, nobody bothered to feed him. Francis was away on assignments given by Daan, and the Dutchman himself would be preparing some type of fish, judging from what he could hear outside the door ("Pickle the fish with salt, and sell it for more because money makes the world go 'round"). The truth was, Francis had told him one afternoon, was that Daan wasn't a bad guy back then. He wanted money, and to the Dutchman, cash was his purpose in life.

He used this time to think, to remember. He used this time to chastise himself for his mistakes, then forgive himself because Leon and Lukas and the whole lot of his family and friends wouldn't like it if Emil was upset with himself.

On this particular night, both Francis and Daan were gone, dealing with some kind of drug dealing transaction. Emil's mind had set itself on the dead. Usually, the Icelander's thoughts were set on his brother, Mathias, Berwald, Tino, and the HVPD force. Would they find him? Would they even try to search for him? These were questions he had constantly asked himself, too drugged to answer them, let alone think straight. But tonight...Tonight, the phantom memories of his lover plagued his mind, leaving no time for rest until he was thoroughly exhausted.

Emil's mind twisted his reality, forming hallucinations in front of him and memory fragments of the Asian boy scattering around the small space he was held in.

"Hong..." Emil whispered the hallucination's name and outstretched his fingers towards the apparition in front of him.

"I'm here, Ice. I'm here." 'Leon' reached out and brushed the back of his hand across Emil's cheek, the feathery dusty feeling of someone that wasn't really there tingled at the core of his chest and his cheek.

"I miss you...you idiot..." He held 'Leon's' hand to his face. Contrary to what he had read in countless novels, his hand didn't slip through 'Leon's' matter as if it were made of air. Instead, a sprightly, warm tingling sensation flooded through his palms, along with the feeling of half tangibility. It was as if 'Leon's' flesh was made of airy mousse.

"Are you scared?" 'Leon' asked him, his golden eyes shined curiously.

Ah, even as a shard of imagination, his lover was still as blunt as ever. "Of what? Of being in the dark? Of being taken by a couple of dangerous gang members?"

"That's one way to put it," 'Leon' tapped a finger to his lips, deep in thought. "The dark is scary, but I was, like, referring to being alone."

"Of course I'm not! I can handle myself just fine." Emil growled.

"I see," 'Leon' kneeled onto the cold floor, crossing his legs in front of the Icelandic boy. "But there has to be something you're afraid of here. I'm a thought formed from your mind; I can sense everything about you, y'know."

Emil furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ground below him. "I'm not afraid of anything here. I'm afraid for Lukas' safety. He's the only family that's related to me by blood. He was the person that raised me, even though he was equally broken and clueless because of that day. He's the one those guys are after. I know that once Lukas pays my ransom off they're just going to kill the both of us."

"I get it now," 'Leon' smiled and ruffled Emil's hair, feeling his hand running through his locks, even though the strands were kept in place. "I know for a fact that you're going to see Lukas again. You're going to get out of here soon, Em. Keep your head up, 'kay?"

Emil huffed in response and glared at the amber eyes staring back at him. "I'm not a kid. But..." His expression softened into a mix of sad contentment. "...Thank you...Thank you for helping me."

"I didn't do anything, it was all you. I'm not really here, remember?" 'Leon's' form seemed to shimmer and fizz a bit before returning back to a solid-looking body.

"I know, I know. I still miss you...I could've helped you, but all I did was watch you die." Emil could see those memories floating around them, the blood; the kisses; the parting words that shook his soul so greatly.

"Hey..." 'Leon' leaned closer to Emil's face and cupped his cheeks with both hands. "Don't think like that. You couldn't have done anything, so it's not your fault. Don't worry about it, okay? I'm here right now, I'm always here."

"I know that you're here, but that will only be for a couple minutes. You're not living, you're not really here, so I-"

'Leon' cut him off with several fleeting kisses to his lips. "What are you talking about? I've always been here, Ice. In here..." He pressed his finger onto Emil's chest with his index, a small smile pleasantly twisting his face into an expression of pure happiness. It was strange to see him like this, for a smile like this barely ever happened, seeing him emit such a bright and happy and childish aura.

"I-I guess..." Emil entwined their fingers together. "I miss you...I wish you were with me...I wish I was with you..."

'Leon' flashed him a crooked smile. "This is beginning to sound like a melodramatic K-Drama..."

The Icelandic boy rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around 'Leon's' torso. "Whatever, you're ruining the moment."

The latter sighed and carded his fingers through Emil's hair. "Sorry, sorry." He pressed his chin to the boy's head. "You know that I'm going to disappear soon, right?"

Emil nuzzled his face closer to Leon's collarbone. "I know." He pulled away slightly. "I have a question."

"Shoot." 'Leon' gave one of his silver locks a light tug.

"If it came under different circumstances...if I didn't arrest you thatday for blowing up Arthur Kirkland's house...do you think it would've ended up this way? Do you think we would've met, or fallen in love?"

'Leon's' thick brows arched down in concentration. "Hm...I can't really answer that, Ice. If you truly love someone, than that love you share between you and your significant other will transcend through space and time. So...my kind-of-sort-of answer is that if we were to live in a world where we didn't meet in that way, we would surely meet each other again and love each other. That is, if you love me." 'Leon' let his tongue peek out from his lips in a teasing manner.

"Of course I love you! Hmph, you're a fool if you think I didn't." Emil crossed his arms irritatingly.

"C'mon, I'm just playing you," 'Leon' chuckled, flicking the other's forehead lightly.

Now that he thought about it, even if this was a hallucinated version of Leon, they still acted the same around each other, and it seemed as if Leon hadn't died, as if he was right here, in front of him. This newfound discovery ached at his chest, turning his blood into molasses. He missed him so much, dammit, not even this 'Leon,' conjured up from the very memories in his mind could ease the empty pain.

"Emil...Don't be like that. Come on..." So 'Leon' had sensed it too.

"The one chance I get at love...some stupid gang leader kills him."

What 'Leon' had whispered in his ear next surprised him.

Before he could respond, the door outside opened, and 'Leon' disappeared into the dark crevices of Emil's brain.

 _ **"How do you know if I'm really dead?"**_

 _They're back_... Emil thought bitterly. He pressed his ear up to the wooden door, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Do you really want to do that, Monsieur?"

"Yes. If that Bondevik boy does not pay his ransom in two weeks, I'm going to-" The voice attached to Daan (most likely) suddenly quieted. "The boy. Drug him. Just in case. I don't want him hearing this conversation."

"But...at this hour? The boy must be sleeping, we put him under the influence of so many drugs already. I'm sure he's-"

"I don't want to take any chances. He might find this more a reason to escape. Drug him."

"I understand. Allow me a minute, then." Francis' footsteps drew nearer to the room Emil was being held in, and a small sense of panic overwhelmed him.

"Skít..." Emil hissed as the door creaked open slowly, revealing the Frenchman who was holding a tall syringe.

"O-oh, Emil...You are awake..."

The Icelander nodded. "Yeah. You're going to drug me now, I know."

"Yes...I apologize, but this must be done." Francis drew closer, the needle closing in with each breath he took.

"Before you inject that into me, please answer me this."

"Ask away, mon petit."

"Is he dead?"

"Who, if I may ask?" Francis tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"...Leon...is he dead?" Emil set his light purple eyes to the Frenchman's darker purple irises, and for a moment, a flicker of hope had appeared in the Icelander's eyes.

"I...um..." Francis sighed, and patted Emil's head. "I don't want to give you any hope for his survival."

"So he's alive?"

"Y-yes...no...? Maybe? I have no idea...I just..." Francis turned his head away, unable to meet the younger's eyes.

Emil narrowed his eyes. "What did you do, Francis...?"

"N-nothing...! I didn't hurt him, I swear! I could never separate you two, it is impossible."

"Then...what did you do?"

"That day when he was shot...he lost consciousness. You were screaming bloody murder, and...and I drugged you."

"I know. You told me that the first night away from home." Emil scowled.

"I know. But after I drugged you...I bandaged the boy up and called the police, informing them of his predicament...using your cellphone. And...if he is alive, he should expect a small envelope somewhere filled with an address on where we are now."

Emil's heart sped up. This wasn't happening. It couldn't. He had heard Leon's heart stop himself, hadn't he? He had seen the deathly expression on his face, cold sweat and blood slipping down his skin. "H-he's alive?"

"He might be." Francis held the syringe to the Icelander's neck. "We can talk about this more tomorrow. Goodnight, Emil."

"Hm." For the first time, Emil willingly let the sharp twinge of the needle pierce into his skin and send its contents into his bloodstream. It was the least he could do, considering the information he had just received.

Francis closed the door behind him on his way out, and joined Daan to continue the imperative conversation they were just about to have. Emil, now on the influence of the drug he was given, could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, the sounds and voices sounding like distant and fuzzy echoes.

"...kill him...som...weeks..."

"...sure Lukas will...then..."

"...dangerous...hide out so long...we should leave and go to..."

Emil strained his ears and eyes, forcing himself to stay awake and listen as best as he could.

"How? ...dangerous...leave. The HVPD is surely search...now."

"In...morn...take the boy and go around the back exit. I'll be the distraction. They'll know we...here, but they...no idea where we will go next."

"I see. How do you plan to be the distraction, then?"

"No more questions. 'M going to bed."

"As should I...au revoir."

The voices stopped there, save for the mild grunt of an exhausted body walking out the door and into the next room over.

Judging by the experiences Emil had gone through in the past couple weeks, Francis would most likely be in the same room as the Icelander, and the Frenchman would be softly snoring on the bed that he presumed was there. Francis really wasn't such a bad person after all, even if he was a gang member.

Sure, he was perverse many a time and he loved to flirt with numerous people regardless of their sexuality and gender; but he was a kind soul, one that sought to care for people he considered dear to him, and the people that his close ones held close to their hearts.

Emil owed it to him, honestly.

But what in the name of God was he talking about with Daan? Emil closed his eyes in an attempt to ease the panic welling up in his chest. Were they planning on killing him? Lukas would save him, there was nothing to worry about. But still, Emil couldn't help but scream his head off internally. This was a serious matter, and he didn't want to become another victim on the newspapers. Not when a sliver of hope had been planted inside of his mind.

He couldn't help but remember something important to him.

 _"Okay, Emil. Since we're officially dating and all that, I've decided to, like, entrust you with one of my most precious secrets." Leon grinned brightly. Emil's Asian boyfriend had decided to wake him up again._

 _"What secret...?" He narrowed his eyes. "This had better be something worth waking me up at 8 am on a Saturday for."_

 _"Of course it's worthy! It's, like, the worthiest secret in the whole world."_

 _"Well, get on with it!"_

 _"My most precious secret is..._

 _... **My name.** "_

 _"...Are...are you fucking with me, Li Xiao Wang?" He seriously wasn't in the mood for this right now._

 _Leon chuckled. "No, I'm serious! This is something very important to me. You can only use it when we're alone and stuff. Let me show you."_

 _Emil hadn't understood what Leon was trying to say, but he let him grab his hand and trace the bedsheets with it._

 _香 "This is Hoeng."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. This isn't high school, stop acting like a teacher. It's scary." Emil received a light flick to the nape of his neck for that._

 _港 "Shut up and listen, young pupil. This is Gong."_

 _"What the hell are you trying to say, Leon? I thought your Chinese name was Li Xiao."_

 _"That was my Mandarin name. This is my Cantonese, uh, name." The younger smiled. "This is my special name; one of my most precious secrets. You use this name when we're alone or if you are in trouble so I can reach you."_

By the time Emil had figured out the translation of that name, he had almost flipped something over in his flustered rage. The name Leon had told him wasn't his Cantonese name at all. In fact, it was the name of a certain special administrative region.

 _"Hong Kong. It was Hong Kong." Emil smiled to himself upon remembering. "This is where he said he was born.**"_

 _There was something else he remembered. It was bittersweet, warm, and painful to recall._

 _Leon slowly dragged Emil's index finger across the small screen, forming a series of intricate characters with each swipe._

 _"This is I. Ngóh."_

 _"This character is Love. Ngoi."_

 _"This is weird, Leon." Emil stammered, his heart racing._

 _"And the last character means You. Néi. Got it?"_

 _"I...I can't possibly remember all of those strokes! They're too complex!"_

 _"You're just being doubtful of yourself, Em. If you really love someone, the characters should come naturally to you."_

Emil had an idea. And he was going to make sure that Leon knew.

-While Emil is Pondering-

Francis couldn't take this much longer. He knew what was going to happen, he knew Daan's intentions, but he couldn't stop them. He was worried for his life, as selfish as that sounded. Emil was innocent, and when he had placed that idea of Leon, his lover, still alive into his silver haired head, he could feel the excitement radiating off of his small body. It hurt him to see the boy so happy, it hurt him because he knew how it would end. He knew how this whole ordeal was going to end.

Being a sucker for romance, especially young romance, Francis decided to give Emil's lover solace, assuming that he was still alive. He wanted the boy to know that Emil had been here, and he wanted to clue in where they would be next. Francis knew that this would most likely cost him his head later on, but he didn't want these young lovers to be torn apart like he and his lover had. So, taking the pocketknife he remembered using to cut apart the lovers' bonds, he dragged the blade across the wallpaper, leaving deep jagged gashes in the already peeling paper. He began to spell out words, which became a single phrase.

 **HE WAS HERE**

Yes, this would definitely cost him his head. But he wasn't called a sucker for romance for nothing.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT A/N Note:**

 **** Leon and Yao were born in China, however, when their parents died, Leon wanted to erase any and all remnants of their past life in China from his memory. When he says he is born in Hong Kong, this kind of symbolizes a rebirth, kind of like a new start for him. Thus, Hong Kong. This will be further explained in a later chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello and we are back! I hope you missed us, and get your tissues ready!**

 **A/N Note: Captain Hédeváry's first name has been edited from Elizaveta to Elizabeta. Sorry for the mistake!**

 **Also, the name Kasem refers to APH Thailand.**

* * *

-Two Weeks Later-

"You're being sent home today."

He opened his caramel eyes slowly, the bleary image of his doctor gradually coming into focus.

"...Why...?" Leon mumbled. The past few weeks went by with him finding nothing but horrible memories in the envelope he had been given three weeks ago.

"Your wounds have recovered fully. There's no reason to keep you here if there's nothing else that's wrong with you. Your older brother is here to pick you up, though a relative and his fiancé are here waiting in the lobby."

 _Kiku...? Heracles...?_ "'Kay...Thanks, doc."

Once Leon had finished getting ready, he sauntered down the hallway into the waiting room where a new mass of sick patients were waiting to be called in. In the midst of the ill heap was a familiar head of raven hair caught his eye, along with a pair of green eyes. Kiku smiled and bowed to his younger half-brother, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Ohayo, Li-kun. I take it you are feeling better?"

Leon shrugged. "Somewhat. It's good to see you, Kiku. You too, Heracles."

"Mm. Shall we be heading out now? We filled out your paperwork earlier." Heracles quietly purred.

The three of them exited the hospital, only to find Yao's old beat up car in front of them. "Li Xiao, is that you, aru?"

"Yeah, teach, it's me."

"Get inside." Yao ignored the nickname and opened the car doors with a push of a button. Leon immediately took the passenger's seat, leaving Kiku and Heracles to crawl into the back.

"So," Yao started as he steered the car onto the main highway, "Are you feeling better, aru?"

Leon leaned his head against the window. "Yeah, I guess."

"You don't seem too happy. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, it's no big deal."

"Is this about the Emil boy Yong Soo told me about? The one that stayed for dinner?"

Leon said nothing; _They don't know that Emil and I are an item yet, do they? Well...besides Kiku, of course. The Japanese man always had a knack of finding out about these affairs sooner or later._

"So it is!" Yao turned his gaze to Leon. "Tell me, are you being safe, aru?"

A small noise was emitted by Kiku in the back, something between a strangled squeal and a half scream. The Japanese man, Mei-Lin, and Elizabeta had some sort of...fetish it seemed like. They were, after all, partly responsible for Arthur Kirkland and Alfred F. Jones' relationship.

"We aren't even doing...that," Leon started. _Does teach know about us? I can't tell._

"I don't care! Are you being safe?"

"Yes, gōgoh. _(Cantonese for older brother)_ " The Hong Kong Chinese boy rolled his eyes.

Yao pulled up to their house's driveway and stomped on the brake. Hard. "Of course you aren't being safe! If you were being safe, this Emil boy wouldn't be in the custody of those mangy gangster men people and you would be blowing something up like the silly, arrogant, stupid dìdi _(Mandarin for little brother)_ you are without getting shot like you were a sitting duck, aru! Come on!" Yao yanked on Leon's ear and slapped his hand over the other's head repeatedly, "Get your head together, aru! I thought I taught you better than to leave your vital spots wide open! Stupid Li Xiao, stupid little brothers that don't know how to keep themselves safe."

Leon widened his eyes and ignored the dull pain that Yao was causing his brain to feel. _Woah, is this what it feels like to reach enlightenment? Is this what Kasem felt like?_

It was in that moment that Leon, being the idiot he was, jumped out of the car and bolted straight to the Hetaliaville Police Station. It wasn't what Yao had said about him that made him flee the vehicle, but rather, what Yao had said to him about Emil. It was his fault, it was his own fault that Emil was currently in the clutches of those "mangy gangster men people," it was his problem to deal with because he didn't protect Ice like he should've. He ignored Yao's enraged yelling and Kiku's urgent pleads to get back into the car. He needed to find Emil, he needed to find him now.

-linebreaklinebreaklalalalatimeskippppppp-

Leon burst through the doors of the HVPD headquarters and immediately headed for Captain Elizabeta Hédeváry's office. Upon arriving in her office, however, two all too familiar Danish and Norwegian officers stopped him from getting any closer.

Mathias grinned. "Hej, where do you think you're going, Leon?"

"Ja, you're supposed to be getting rest." Lukas added.

"Get out of my way." Leon growled, catching them both off guard.

"A-ah...um..." The Dane was at a loss for words, and Lukas rolled his eyes.

"We know why you're here. You're not going into her office."

"Let me through so I can make things right."

"Let him through." Their bickering was cut to a close when Elizabeta walked into her office, leaving Leon baffled as to why Lukas and Mathias were guarding her desk at all if she wasn't presently at her workspace.

"But sir-" The Dane started.

"It's fine, Mathias. I would appreciate it if you and your fiancé took your leave back to your designated workspaces or to the bathroom upstairs." The Nordic pair flushed at the last statement and closed the door behind them, leaving Leon and Elizabeta alone.

"I suppose there's a reason why you needed to talk to me." The Captain bluntly said, and she puffed her chest out a little.

"Yeah, but first...why were they guarding your office?"

"Who? Lukas and Mathias?" A nod was all she received. "I knew you would be getting out of the hospital some time, and when my old friend Kiku told me you were finally being discharged from the hospital, I knew you would come here to ask if you could find Emil."

"How do you know I wouldn't stop here and search around downtown for Emil on my own?" Leon argued, clearly intrigued that the Captain had everything planned out.

"You're interested to know what we found, if we found anything at all concerning the envelope of addresses you were assigned to."

"Hm. It seemed like the HVPD was using me for seeking information, and now I want answers. Where is he?"

Elizabeta smiled sadly. "We didn't find him or the building where he was being held since you still haven't figured it out, but one of the members from the Vrede en Liefde sent this to the HVPD through email." Elizabeta pulled out a photo from her desk and handed it to Leon.

The image on the photo was of a small lower-class hotel room, the wallpaper peeling away into jagged shards. Upon closer inspection, Leon noted, the jagged lines cutting through the wallpaper made letters, and those letters forming words if he put spaces in between certain letters.

"He...was...here...?" Leon's eyes widened and his grip on the photo tightened. "Could Emil have made these lines in the wall?"

Elizabeta shrugged. "Maybe, but where would he have gotten the tools to make such indents in the wallpaper? And I highly doubt that this gang would let him have a go with such sharp supplies."

Leon frowned; it was true, Emil would've never been let off easy for carrying such materials, and he most likely would've been empty-handed if he was kidnapped by these guys. It was certain-Emil hadn't been the one to carve out that phrase on the wall.

"If Emil didn't, like, make that, then who do you suppose did?"

The Captain shrugged once more. "I haven't the faintest clue. Lukas, Mathias, Antonio, and Lovino volunteered to take this case once they dropped you off at the hospital. They've been leading the rest of my men left and right, and only looking to me for permission to send them off. It's exhausting just looking at them, really. They have information regarding some of the Vrede en Liefde's accomplices and on the gang's possible hideout locations."

Leon had to crack a smile at that. It was Lukas, Mathias, Toni, and Lovino that had saved his life by taking him to the hospital, and it was them that had been working his job in his absence.

"You came here for another reason as well, didn't you?" Elizabeta crossed her arms over her chest.

"I want to go look for him."

"My answer is no." She glared down at the latter. "There is absolutely no way you're changing my decision."

"Why not?" Leon furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's my duty as Captain to make sure none of my men are put to harm's way."

"I appreciate your consideration, but like, one of your precious men, my boyfriend, needs me! I need to go and, like, investigate this further...on my own."

"I'm not going to take risks again. You're not going. I'm sending the force after them, they'll find Emil."

"They'll never get there in time! Sending a large force won't get us anywhere! Even if they can get a room searched faster, or whatever, they won't have the intellect to, like, piece all the facts together!"

"Are you calling my force dumb, Leon Wang?" Elizabeta's eye twitched angrily.

"No, no! Of course not! I'm just saying...ah..." He was stumped. There was absolutely no way his words were going to make any indent on the Captain's stubborn mind.

 _Well..._

 _No. Absolutely not._

There was one way; but he was going to be humiliated for ages.

 _But...this is the only way I can find Emil by himself. It's my fault that Emil was taken by those oafs, and it's my duty not just as an employee to the HVPD, but as Emil's boyfriend, to get him back. I need to get him back. I need him, and there's only one way for me to do that._

Leon sighed; he didn't want to do this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He buckled his knees and folded them into a kneeling position on the floor, let his hands rest on either side of him. He looked up at the woman in complete submission.

"Please, sir. He...I...I love him...so much...He means so much to me, and like, I need to get him back. It's my fault that he's been taken from his loved ones, and as his faithful friend, boyfriend, and everything else in between I need to get him back. I'm not speaking to the Captain. I'm speaking to you, Elizabeta Hédeváry. Please, Elizabeta, please let me go. Please let me get Emil."

The Hungarian woman appeared shocked for a moment, and silence washed over them like a pelting shower of heavy rain. Leon had placed himself vulnerably, leaving all the control to the Captain in front of him. "I...I..."

"It's my fault that Emil isn't here with us right now."

"...I have one condition."

Leon's eyes glowed brightly as he smiled. "Thank you, you will not-"

"You're not going to go out there, not now. You're going to be at the desk, going through information."

 _What._

"E-excuse me?"

"You heard me, Wang. You're going to sift through all of the clues that these thugs have left behind. This is my condition; you run by my rules, or else I'll have you cleaning the bathroom upstairs."

Leon cringed at the thought of wiping away whatever...residue that would be clinging to the sinks or mirrors or stalls in that place after a certain Dane and Norwegian waltzed in. No; this was an offer he certainly didn't want to refuse. "I'll go search through the files under the Vrede en Liefde."

"Good boy."

He never realized there was so _much_ information, virtually and physically recorded.

Because, damn, those guys must've been working their spinning chairs off if they had ransacked every newspaper business in town (30 paper services) for their past files concerning the thugs, interrogated dozens of Vrede en Liefde conspirators, searched all over town and took photos and matching descriptions, and searched through the Dark Web's many Vrede en Liefde drug suppliers' virtual footprints.

And Leon was seriously surprised that one of the HVPD's own, specifically Lovino Vargas, had ties with a well known ex-mafia in the community that had done business with the Vrede en Liefde before.

It had been eight whole hours and Leon was still searching through the information his colleagues had acquired, and there was still no sign as to where the Vrede en Liefde were currently.

Leon pulled up the photos that his friends had taken in his absence, each photo corresponding to the addresses he had received in the envelope he was given two weeks ago. The collection of photos had grown, the amount of pictures he had received in that envelope seeming tiny to the huge array he was observing now.

He really owed it to those guys; he would have to give them a huge hug later.

 ** _XXXX, Doitsu Avenue. The warehouse behind La Mia Pasta._**

The small cluster of photos didn't show anything that signified the Vrede en Liefde's presence. Everything was dusty and worn down, and from what Leon had learned from his last friendly visit with them, the Dutch leader of the gang liked to make sure everything was spick-and-span wherever they roamed.

Leon decided to cross out the warehouse, as well as a few other locations (such as an abandoned farmhouse behind a New Zealander's sheep farm and a vacant auto shop on the downtown border).

 _ **XXXX, Samurai Street. The abandoned greenhouse near the old martial arts center.**_

Leon scoffed. _Chinatown?_ Well, to be accurate it was in the Tokyo Community, where the population was mostly made up of the Japanese, but still; there was absolutely no way the Vrede en Liefde of all gangs could've decided to bunk out in an Asian sector of Hetaliaville.

 _Well...you never know..._ His mind suggested.

Leon shook his straying thoughts away. There was no way, NO WAY, that this stupid gang was going to ruin Chinatown or whatever Asian-influenced part of town for him. He shooed away the photos and information on the Tokyo Community, leaving several addresses left.

And by several, he meant several dozen.

Leon sighed to himself and moved his mouse to the next address' truckload of information. "You guys work too much..."

-Later:-

Leon, by some amazing miracle, had finished going through all of the information and had narrowed his choices down to three addresses.

His eyes flickered to the clock on his desk.

10:45 pm.

It had really been twelve hours?

Leon yawned and leaned back in his seat; he should go home, his shift was already over. Mathias hadn't called him to do his prison-sitting shift, so he was basically free.

But this was for Emil.

Emil was waiting for him. There was no time to lose.

Due to a shortage in cubicles (that Leon seriously doubted), this small space belonged to both Emil and him. All of the things surrounding him right now; the small clock, the computer, the picture of Emil, Mathias, and Lukas, the neighboring picture of Leon and Emil together (that had been put up once Emil and him started dating. Emil had stolen the picture off of Leon's phone, but it was the thought that counted, right?). These items all had belonged to Emil, and it was as if he was actually watching his Asian lover with his calculated and soft violet eyes, his presence surrounded him like a phantom, and it was utterly overwhelming.

Yeah, he really should go home. But yet, Leon stared at the blinding computer screen, his golden eyes studying the photos and information about Francis and Daan, as well as photos that he had hand picked from each of the three files he had narrowed down to.

 **May 30, XXXX**

 **French Chef Francis Bonnefoy's Wife Dies Suddenly:**

 _Francis Bonnefoy, a world renowned French Chef, has faced a terrible tragedy today. His wife, Jehanne D'Arc, also known as Joan, has passed away at the tender age of 19._

 _Leon made a face. Francis married a teenager?! Well, then again, this article was dated back a decade._

 _As said by officials, Joan died in an almost brutal way that hasn't been done since ages ago. According to criminal experts of the HVPD, Francis Bonnefoy's wife was tied to a wooden stake placed upon a blanket of fire-proof fabric and set aflame. The source of the flame was most likely placed on her feet and the fire made its way upwards. Her ashes were found neatly arranged outside of the stake, forming the letters I.B. Francis was thoroughly shocked upon noticing his beloved's death, and he hasn't been answering any reporters' questions about the incident. The HVPD predicts that the person most likely responsible for Mrs. Bonnefoy's death is Ivan Braginsky, the notorious Russian assassin within the HetaliaVille borders, but Mr. Braginsky has sworn himself into the life of education as an elementary school teacher and says he "does not pursue the path of murder anymore."_

 _It is an unjust shame that Jehanne has been murdered, and speaking as the staff of the Hetalia Ville Gazette, we hope her to be at peace._

Leon's blood boiled at the thought of Ivan killing another loved one. It was wrong, it was a disgusting act to kill. But Leon was slightly intrigued with this article. Francis didn't seem like a bad man at all, in fact, Leon almost felt as if he could trust the man.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

Someone had to have hired Ivan Braginsky for his services. But who?

Francis was a good man, so why was he involved with the Vrede en Liefde?

Leon sighed; it wasn't something he should be thinking about now. Emil was his top priority, not some petty mystery.

Petty or not, though, it was brutal and cruel that his wife had to be killed like that.

He moved onto the next article, or rather, the next interrogation report:

Interrogator Name: Lovino Vargas

Interrogatee Name: Morro Kevin Jameson

Interrogatee Age: 22.

Interrogatee Sex: Male

 **Report:**

 _That shady bastard said a bunch of shit that I don't really believe, but here's what he spat out:_

 _\- The stupid mafia he's involved in sells drugs to tons of different buyers._

 _\- He also sells fish, but it's at an unnaturally high price._

 _\- He last saw them exchanging illegally identified drugs with a drug dealer they were associated with near a rundown liquor store on the downtown border._

 _\- It also turns out that Mr. Jameson is a current member of the Vrede en Liefde, so I punched him in the face and laughed at his bloody nose._

 _\- I was forced to apologize for it after he told me that he wasn't informed of the Vrede en Liefde's next assignment, only to 'keep watch of the drug supply and don't tell anyone of where we are going to hide the kid.'_

 _\- I then proceeded to kick him out of his chair repeatedly and used my ingenious Mustache Attack until he told me where those mafia douchebags were holding Fish Breath. (Continued to kick him out of his chair when he said I had a mustache. My incredible Mustache Attack never backfires.)_

 _\- Emil was last being held in _._

 _Interrogator's Note: I know that abusing the suspect in questioning is against the rules but I don't give a shit. Lukas did it, so that means I can too._

Leon caught himself laughing several times, but stopped himself, even though there was nobody in the building at this late hour. Well, except for Mathias and a couple other people that were either working a late hour shift or prison-sitting duty.

He cleared his throat and looked over the digital document of Lovino's report again. _Last being held...?_ Does that mean this Morro guy didn't know exactly where he was? No, that couldn't be.

The Vrede en Liefde were more secretive than he thought. They didn't tell fellow gang members information they didn't want or need to tell.

Leon clicked out from the report and pulled open his manilla envelope of photographs depicting the different buildings in which he narrowed down his choices to.

He shuffled his hand through the contents until he found the address that Lovino had typed down in his report.

 ** _XXXX Sunflower Blvd. The Platinum Hotel._**

There was a small pile of photos that had the address labeled on their backs, Leon noted. Most of the photos were taken around the room itself, showing multiple shots of the wall and of the small bed on below it. However, there was one photo in particular that caught his eye.

This photo displayed the inside of a dark wooden closet, one that hotel residents would most likely place spare clothes and luggage in. It wasn't a very big space, probably only big enough to fit in two people. Inside the closet was-

Nothing.

The closet was empty, there was no trace of Emil, no trace of anyone occupying the room.

 _Why the hell did you guys take a picture of an empty closet...? You guys better not be messing with me._

His eyes bore holes through the tiny photo. What was so important about this photo?

The closet was dark, it was empty, there was nothing except dust-

 _That's it._

Leon squinted his eyes, sharpening his vision to see that small dusty smudge that the picture had captured. It was so tiny, there was no way his naked eye could see it without any special equipment.

 _I hope that Lovino or Lukas downloaded another copy of this picture onto the police database._

Sure enough, a small thumb-sized photo file with the name, Platinum Hotel Closet, was sitting in the same folder in which Lovino's interrogation report was contained in.

"I'm so glad you guys exist." Leon muttered, tapping his cursor on the digital replica of the photo he wanted.

The same small smudge of dust in the corner of the picture caught his eye, and using his mouse, he zoomed in on the small dust pile.

He was also thankful for the high resolution that this photo had.

What appeared as a suspicious mess of dust to the naked eye was actually an inscription of sorts drawn in dust.

This wasn't just any inscription. These were Chinese characters.

Not just any Chinese characters. His Chinese characters.

我 Ngóh. _"This is I."_

愛 Ngoi. _"This character is Love."_

你 Néi. _"And the last character means You."_

香 Hoeng. _"This is something very important to me. You can only use it when we're alone and stuff."_

 _"If you really love someone, the characters should come naturally to you."_

"D-Dammit...Emil..." Leon could feel his eyes sting, the foreboding sensation of tears pricking at his eyes.

 _I understand, Emil. I know. I'm coming for you, hold on. Keep going Emil, for me. For Lukas and Mathias._

The small characters bore into Leon's skull, whipping his brain to gruel, because all he could focus on were _those words_. He could imagine a broken and disheveled looking Emil, lying on the floor, knees to his chest in a fetal position, his shaking fingers dragging against the dusty floor that Daan didn't manage to clean up, forming those strong characters that poured copious amounts of hope and pain alike into his body like gasoline to a fuel tank.

It energized him. Those characters told him to 'keep going, you're almost there.'

 **Emil was telling him, 'I'm alright. I'm okay. I'm still alive, and I know you are too.'**

"E...mil...I'm going to find you...!" And Leon's sobs wracked through his body, sending him into his emotions' grasp for the first time in many, many years.

* * *

 **Yayyy, I really like this chapter, but my favorite one is coming up soon~! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello once again! Happy Halloween, so here we get a great chapter for this creepy, spooky time of yeat! Shit goes down in the chapter guys... or more than it was been I guess. But get exited more intense chapters are being written and more tears. Yaaaay! Also this thing -This chapter takes place in the Platinum Hotel BEFORE Leon finds the photo he finds in Chapter 2. Basically, we have a time rewind. *TIME REWIND WEEEEEE***

* * *

Francis came back into his room again with a small request from Daan.

Because apparently, 'that boy's crying in his sleep is getting annoying,' and the Dutchman decided it be best that he had Francis gag the already drugged Emil and blindfold him as well.

And just for good measure, Francis had to drug him again.

Emil rolled his eyes from beneath the blindfold. He really hated these guys. Intense hatred.

"A thousand apologies, mon petit." Francis muttered quietly, and Emil heard the tap of the closed door.

This gag tasted weird. Like...a strong bitter medicinal flavor that came with an invigorating sharp aftertaste. Emil ran his tongue along the tough cloth again, and nearly choked as he recognized the taste.

 _Oh great;_ Emil groaned to himself. _More drugs._

He was sure he would become addicted soon enough if any more needles were injected into him. Or gags, for that matter.

Emil rolled from his side onto his back, a small drizzle of saliva licking past his numb lips. He turned his blind gaze to the ground. How was he going to even move his fingers if he had such a high drug concentrate sitting in his small body?

 _Gud, I don't feel too hot..._

"Of course you don't. You're from Iceland, remember?"

 _And my hallucination returns...his voice, at least._

"That's not a very nice way to greet your conscience."

 _Conscience? You?_ Emil inwardly scoffed. _More like a hellish illusion._

"Those drugs they gave you make you grumpy."

 _Shut up heimskur höfuð._ ("Shut up stupid head" in Icelandic. Well, the "stupid head" part. :) )

"Hey, that wasn't nice. I can understand what you're saying, you know."

Emil closed his eyes, enveloping himself into his own thoughts. His usual dreamscapes in his drugged situations were extremely vivid, and like the many other times he had swallowed himself inwardly, he felt a cool burst race through his chest like thin gales of wind.

And suddenly he found himself standing in the middle of-

"Is this...the HVPD office...?"

His hallucination of 'Leon' flashed into his dreamscape, his Asian lover resting the length of his legs on the desk. Well, specifically, Emil's desk.

"Yeah, do you still remember it?"

Emil scowled. "It's only been several weeks. I'm not going to forget where I get all my money from, idiot."

'Leon' chuckled. "You never know; those drugs might have, like, weird side effects that could potentially become life-threatening."

"That sounds too smart, even for you." Emil rolled his eyes and leaned against his cubicle wall.

"'S something up?"

The Icelander shook his head slowly. "No-well, I mean...yes? I'm not sure."

"What's on your mind?" But 'Leon' was a figment of Emil's imagination, so of course he would know what was up.

"You should already know."

"Yeah, but I like, want to hear you say it."

Emil rolled his eyes. "Fine." The atmosphere sombered between them, and Emil started drumming his fingers on his desk. "How do you write 'I love you' in Chinese?"

Leon frowned. "Why do you need to remember?"

Well, that was a surprise. "W-well, I just thought that maybe I could show Leon that I'm okay, and maybe give him clues as to where to find me."

"I am Leon, though."

"You are, but you're a piece of my conscience."

"So now you admit it."

"Just show me the damn characters, Leon. He said they should just 'come naturally to me,' but I can't remember."

"Pushy, are we?" 'Leon' slowly peeled away a blank sticky note from the screen of the computer that was sitting on the mahogany desk. Suddenly, as he was just about to snatch a pen from the pencil holder also displayed on the desk's surface, he pulled his hand away and reapplied the sticky note to the computer monitor.

"Well...what are you waiting for? Get on with it!"

"A thought just occured to me…"

"Leon…?"

"I'll show you, for sure, Ice. But...I have one condition."

Emil gulped; he wasn't sure, but he was almost positive that something had changed with 'Leon's demeanor. This wasn't his conscience...well, the one he had started out with, right?

"My condition is...in return for showing you how to write the characters I'm about to show you, you must promise me that you'll stay with me."

"Stay...with you…?

"Yes; stay with _Leon_ , Em."

There it was again; that shrill inward scream in his throat, the sour taste of his own saliva as it evaporated inside his mouth and sent his heartbeat a-fluttering. But not in the lovey-dovey, warm way that Leon usually caused him to do. No, this was a thumping in his chest that tore away at his stomach, forcing it to flip over and sway in sickly, nauseating ways. He wasn't sure what 'Leon' was planning, but he knew that it was going to bite him in the ass sooner or later. "I don't know, Leon...I-"

"I can help you, Em. I can make sure you'll be alright with Leon again...I know the characters, after all."

Emil blew out his breath uneasily. "I...Fine."

"...Perfect." 'Leon' smiled contentedly before pressing a hand to Emil's forehead, sending the Icelander's world spiraling into the darkness.

By the time Emil had resurfaced from the dark abyss his subconsciousness had been sent to, he had come back to reality, and his hands had gained enough feeling so that he could feel a slight electrifying tingle running up his fingertips to his palms.

"Nngh..." Emil groaned through his gag. The sharp taste of drugs had worn thin, squeezing out the soggy and sweat-like taste of the rag. _I've got to write my message now, before they come back._

"Then, let me help you, Ice."

And Leon was kneeling in front of him, appearing very much real, except for the fact that his eyes were narrowed into slits like a cat's, the gold irises smiling like the Cheshire Cat grin that was sneaking up his face.

He laced his airy fingers with Emil's lifting them up and curling all but his index into a fist. Slowly, he began to write the characters.

"You know, Ice..." 我 "...wouldn't you be happier with me?"

 _...I'm afraid I don't get what you mean._

"I've been with you the whole time, I've come to rescue you from this dark room and those cruel men." 愛 "Don't I serve a better being of affection than your person of interest?"

Emil could feel his forehead break out into cold sweat. _What the hell…? You're my conscience, Leon. I'm not going to date myself. That's narcissistic an-_

"But I'm not you. I'm Leon. Sure, I'm a part of your head, but that doesn't mean that we aren't compatible as two separate beings."

 _Stop making me sound like a doppelgänger. I think these drugs are getting to my head. You're the sole creation of my thoughts and memories of Leon. You can't take an actual living, thinking form._

"I see. If that is what you believe…" 你 "...Think what'd you like."

 _Why are you acting so differently…? You don't act like Leon anymore...You're scaring me, and you're supposed to be my conscience._

"I'm part of your brain, Emil. If the brain is affected in some way…" 'Leon' trailed off, his cat's eyes flaring.

The Icelander's head started to throb. _Oh...Oh Guð...I don't understand...What happened to you? What's happening to me?_

The room started spinning, the constant swirling abyss of darkness closing in, leaving his vision fuzzy and him vulnerable. His limbs felt heavy like thick blocks of limestone were weighing upon him, making it utterly impossible for him to move. Gathering every drop of energy he had left in his hands, he hastily wrote the last character. This was the last character he knew. He knew it for sure, and he didn't need his subconscious-gone-rogue to show him.

香

-linebreaklinebreakhoenggongislandicelandhappyfuntimesallaroundandhappyflashbackloves-

"I've got some good stuff to show you, Cap." A butter-colored manilla envelope was hugged between his hands, a bright smile complimenting the dark circles under his eyes.

"Hm? Leon? What are you doing here so early?"

"Didn't go home; pulled an all-nighter just for my Ice Boy." Leon pinched the envelope between his fingers and slammed it down on Elizabeta's desk.

She looked at the envelope in slight awe, yet a weary grim line formed from her lips.

"Go on, take a look. Those boys done me proud, sir."

"Leon…" She started, sliding her finger through the envelope's entrance and pulling out the photo. "I would very much appreciate it if you refrained using highly informal...teen-speak in my presence. This is a place of high-respect, and I expect you to-" Her eyes scanned the photo, noticing a small smudge-print. "What is that?"

Leon handed her a zoomed in copy of the same photo, its focus on the dusty smudge in the corner. "It's a message. From Emil. To me."

"All I can see are those strange letters. What are those? I can't read them at all."

"Like I said, it's a message. From Emil. To me."

"May I ask what that message is? And for God's sakes, Leon, you're pissing me off quite early in the day."

"Can't help it, sir. I'm breathing! I'm living! I'm going to find him! He's waiting for me, Cap! He's still waiting and he knows I'm searching!"

"What is the message, Leon?" Elizabeta frowned; there was a troubled appearance to her strong features.

The Hong Kong Chinese boy sombered. "Does it matter what the message was? I know what it says, and that's enough."

"It's the law in this town, Leon. What did the message say?"

He sighed. There was no getting around this one. "It said 'I love you, Hong.'"

"And that's relevant because…? How do we know it's him? How do we know it's not somebody-"

"No! No. Only Emil knows this. There's no one else. He's the only one who knows."

Elizabeta sighed. "I suppose this might be him...But there's no time stamp. This could be from days ago, Leon."

"But we have a lead, don't we? We can check this place out for evidence, can't we?"

"I'll send my men out. You ca-"

"I'm going, Elizabeta."

"Leon-"

"No, sir! You don't, like, understand, I've just-I've got to see that place! I need to check. I've got to, it's absolutely imperative! I don't know what I'll do...Please."

"I was just going to say that I think it's a good idea if you tagged along, Leon. You did find that lead, after all."

Leon wasn't sure if it was from the lack of sleep he got last night, or from the high vibes he was feeling that moment, but he wrapped his arms around her and planted his lips to her cheeks happily.

"L-Leon…! You're not acting like yourself, I think you need a day off! Get some rest, and-and stop harassing people!"

He laughed amiably and ran out of the station. Before leaving, he grinned at Elizabeta. "Don't think of me so lowly, sir! I don't harass people, that's Yong Soo's specialty!"

-linebreaklinebreakoopsamillionoopsamillionoopsamillionoopsamillionlalalallalalalalalalaalalla-

 _Shit...everything feels so heavy…_ He let out a breathy cough, watching as bubbles of air rose into the dark.

 _Why does my head feel all...tingly?_

He observed his hands with barely opened eyelids, a surprised exhale and a storm of bubbles was his reaction to the luminescent appearance of his pale skin.

 _Where...am I?_

 _Why am I here?_

He tried to call for someone, anyone, but his lips seemed to be unable to move. His limbs too, felt incapable of any movement.

 _Hello...?_

 _Hello...? Is anyone here?_

 ** _You are here._**

 _H-huh...? Who's there?_ This voice seemed awfully familiar to him.

 ** _You are here._**

 _Me...?_

 ** _Yes._**

 _Then...who are you?_

 ** _I am you._**

 _What...? Wait... Leon?_

 ** _In the conscience. Get it? It's like that old saying, "in the flesh," am I right?_**

 _Why...can't I move?_

 ** _You're stuck here, Emil._**

 _Why…?_

 ** _Because…_**

 ** _...You'd said you'd stay with me, right?_**

The darkness caved in on him, and he blinked away the cloud of bubbles that had erupted from the endless abyss he was submerged in. As the bubbles cleared away, amongst the darkness was a figure shrouded in a barely visible glow.

Amethyst eyes bore into the symmetrical pair that had shot open with surprise.

Platinum blonde hair, seemingly white as snow illuminated the darkness, surrounding it with an ethereal quality.

The darkness was bent to the figure's will, his body moving through the shadowy murk with ease.

 **Emil…**

 **...You are me. We're going to stay here for a while.**

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this saddness guys. I'd love to hear all of your tears, anger, and theories on what the fuck just happened. Hope you liked and see you nest update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**And hello once again my friends! This flashback takes place during Hong's hospital break. We know we're kind of rewinding time a lot this book, but it's crucial to understand what exactly is going on to allow the plot line to flow. Anyway, expect a lot of flashbacks and a lot of hot-dang-no-way-are-you-kidding-me moments throughout the book! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

-Flashback:-

"Okay, boys, I've got a-"

"Why the hell did you call me in for? I was about to chase the shit out of some robber's ass."

"I sent our new Polish cop after him. Newbies always need some experience." The Captain replied easily. "Now, as I was saying-"

"Luke! Stop choking me, that hurts! My tie isn't supposed to be that tight!"

"Sir, why did you call us in? Mathias and I were going to-" _(Chase after a couple of drug dealers.)_

"Oh, you guys can stop with your bathroom debacles for a moment, can't you?" The Captain pumped her chest out fiercely. This wasn't just some ordinary job.

Antonio decided to drop in (late) just as Elizabeta was about to speak. "Mi amigos! Why are you guys here?" He turned to his angry Italian counterpart and squeezed him into a hug just as tight as the knot on the Dane's tie. "Mi tomate! I am so happy to see you (again) this morning!"

"Get off of me, you tomato bas-!"

"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN BEFORE I SMASH YOU ALL TO PULPS WITH MY FRYING PAN! Can you guys shut up for just a minute so I can explain things?!" The Captain shouted and shot an intense glare at her best-in-rank cops. "God, there's a reason to all of this and I can't explain it with your constant yapping!"

The crowd of (insanely hot) men silenced immediately; sometimes, Elizabeta could be as intimidating as a thousand men.

"Thank you. Ahem. Lukas, Mathias, I know that you have reported to me Leon's findings. Before this whole...thing had even started, I sent one of our cops to work as a double agent for The Verde en Liefde. He has also been keeping tabs on them for me, which could be useful. Since they are a notorious gang known for murdering countless people, and now that Emil has been kidnapped, it is imperative that we find our Lost Boy ASAP!"

"Yes sir!" They all cried in unison.

"First thing's first. Emil's been taken by the infamous mafia known as the Vrede en Liefde. Correct?"

"Yes sir!"

"I want you to find out information on this mafia more. We've many an unsolved case about them, and I don't want Emil's to sit on a dusty shelf. We're going to save him, and we have to do this quick."

"Sir! What about Leon?" Mathias asked, "Don't we want him on the field finding evidence as well?"

"I was just getting to that, Køhler. I'm going to repeat this once, and once only. We're going to keep Leon off of this case."

"But sir, I-! This is Emil's counterpart we're talking about here! He's on the team, so can't he-"

"He's working as a consultant, Mathias. Half of his world is already in danger, let's make sure that his life isn't. I want to make sure that we won't lose two of our only consultants."

"Sir, I just don't feel comfortable with keeping this from Le-"

"Shut up, Dane."

The whole room went silent, and all eyes were on Lukas, the only person that used that nickname on Mathias.

"Wha-? Luke, I-"

"I told you to shut up, Mathias." His fiancé gaped like a fish, opening and trying to close his mouth dumbly.

"Captain, I understand that you want to protect Leon from getting hurt, given his mental and physical condition. However, he knows more about this gang's motives more than we do. Can't we just-"

"No! I will not allow any danger to come to Wang. He's wounded for God's sake! Steilsson is missing, I don't want another missing case to be filed among the others and catch dust. Leon isn't going on the case, do I make myself clear?"

Lukas stood his ground. "Elizabeta, this isn't just about the safety of the staff. My lillebror is missing. My lillebror's boyfriend is stubborn. He's not going to just lay around in the hospital and wait for the case to be solved. Besides, I doubt this case will be solved without Leon's help. He has just as much of a right to be searching for Emil as I, and the rest of the members here, do. He has to join us in the search. If you won't let Leon in on the investigation, I swear it to you, sir, _I swear I'll do it, whether you like it or not."_

The small party, stunned, waited for the Captain's response. She was taken aback, startled by Lukas' rebellious statement. He really did care about Leon as if he were his own brother. "There are...certain circumstances to thi-"

" _No_. We're going to let him in on the case. No 'ifs,' 'ands,' or 'buts.'"

"...Damn," Mathias crookedly grinned. "That was hot, Luke."

Lukas ignored his fiancé's cheeky comment, and readjusted the cufflinks to his uniform. "Leon needs to be on this case. You know that we'll need the assistance. You know that we'll need his help to solve this one, and all the others."

"Lukas Bondevik, I'm not going to let Leon in this case right _a_ t _this moment._ " Elizabeta scowled. "I absolutely do _not_ want any lives to be at stake here, especially _his-_ -again. I will allow you to report information that we find to him in the hospital. But other than that, that will be as much help that he can provide on the case."

"Captain, that's hardly fair! He's not providing anything to the case! He'll be listening, and that's all he'll be doing!"

"Lukas, I said that that's all he'll be doing. Do I make myself clear?"

"Captain, I-! I cannot al-"

" _Do I make myself clear?_ " Elizabeta's scowl intensified.

"Yes." Lukas maintained his apathetic composure, but it was clear that he wasn't satisfied with the Captain's plans.

"Good. You are all dismissed. I expect you to juggle researching information on this case, as well as dealing with the other cases that aren't pertained to this one."

The officers filed out of the Captain's office. Lukas gripped onto Mathias' uniform, leaning close to him.

He let his head drop onto the other's shoulder tiredly. "I'm not going to let the Captain stop Leon from getting Emil back. My little brother needs us."

"So...what exactly are you planning, Norge?"

"Why don't we take a visit to the hospital?"

-linebreaklinebreakdanglukasthatwashotbro-

-One Week Later-

"Information report; let's see what you boys have so far on the case of our kidnapped consultant. Lovino, what do you have so far?"

"I finished interrogating some of the shady bastards that are associated with the Vrede en Liefde, and I managed to squeeze some information out of some of the ex-mafiosos I used to work with. It turns out that their latest drug haul-in from the Vrede en Liefde was about several weeks ago, right before Emil disappeared. They said that the next load-in from them would be in about a couple of weeks."

"Do you have a location on where the Vrede en Liefde is getting all the drugs?"

"No sir, that's all the information I have so far."

"Get started on locating where all of those drugs are coming from. They could pinpoint to the locations of their many hide-outs. One of them could potentially be the place where Emil is being held at." Elizabeta turned to the Spanish officer next. "Antonio, what's your report?"

"Aye, sir. I've been examining the main area of the diner-where the crime unfurled-but there's not much evidence that can be of use. The floors, walls, and furniture in the place have been wiped clean of fingerprints, suspicious substances, and anything else that would have pinpointed their next move."

"Really…? I see; it won't be easy this time around either. Toni, I want you to-"

"However, Captain, I did find sweet-smelling residue on the kitchen counter. There was a pile of crates near the area, and I'll be searching those later today."

"Good, I'll be leaving it to you and your group to search them. Mathias, what is your update?"

The Dane nervously chuckled. "Well...I, uh, kind of teamed up with Lukas on this one."

Elizabeta raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What were you two up to?"

When Lukas didn't say anything, Mathias continued. "We took a visit to the hospital that Leon is being held in."

The look on Elizabeta's face in that moment was perfectly painted; it was a face that clearly screamed, _'I am thoroughly pissed and I'm going to make sure you know.'_

"Vargas, Carriedo. Leave my office. Now."

Lovino and Antonio didn't need to be told that twice-they quickly shuffled out, drawing the blinds close and closing the door behind them.

" _You two_. You disobeyed my orders."

"No, we didn't. We just informed Leon about the case, and we asked him for information. He didn't even ask to be on the case." Lukas leaned his lean body against the door, his apathetic expression showing the slightest hints of smugness.

"I don't care. Now that Leon is informed, he'll do anything, _anything_ to worm his way into the case. He may not seem like it now, since he's hospitalized, but he will. Are you _trying_ to endanger his life a second time?" Elizabeta hollered out.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. " _Of course not_. We're just trying to give Leon the opportunity to get the justice he wants."

"Justice? Ha!" Elizabeta laughed humorlessly. "Justice? Are you serious? You sound like your younger brother."

"That's just one of the reasons why we're related." Lukas crossed his arms over his chest.

"Really? Well, look at where that lusting for _justice_ got him." Elizabeta spat out the word as if it were some kind of vile poison. "Kidnapped by one of the most notorious gangs in HetaliaVille. We might as well just announce the boy _dead_."

Something flashed behind Lukas' eyes. Never a good sign. The Norwegian's lips upturned challengingly. "I see. Well, why don't we talk about your situation with your Prussian boyfriend? I know that _you've_ been trying to get justice for _him_."

Elizabeta Héderváry, Captain of the HetaliaVille Police Department. She is currently trying to find a way to prove her Prussian (more like German, but this is how he refers himself as) boyfriend, Gilbert Beilschmidt's innocence.

Gilbert Beilschmidt, Captain Elizabeta's boyfriend. Gilbert is a supermodel working at Karpusi Co.. He is currently under house arrest after being convicted of having murdered his ex-girlfriend, Julchen Nguyen**, two years ago. Gilbert was sentenced to life in prison, but the charges against him were reduced to monitored house arrest. The court is still pending on his permanent sentence until he can be determined innocent.

"That was none of your business, Bondevik."

"It became my business when you decided to speak about my lillebror like that."

For a while, none of them said anything. The tension in the room was held taut like a high-wired string, fraying on the edges, the fibers threatening to snap and break.

"Get out of my office, you two. If I hear any more of you rebellious mouth, Bondevik, I'll suspend you from the team. I swear it."

Lukas' face held a troubled expression for a moment, but quickly morphed back into his usual apathetic visage. "Hm."

And with that, Mathias and Lukas closed the door behind them.

-linebreaklinebreakfeelsanddramaintensifieslikewhoooooosh-

He was sobbing in his room again.

The door was locked.

"Luke…? You okay?"

One knock to the door.

No answer.

Another rap to the door.

"Luke, can I come in?"

Ever since the day Emil had gone missing, ever since Leon had almost died, his tears were all Mathias could hear, resonating from the walls of the small townhouse they were accommodated in.

This time, Mathias wanted to cry with him.

On the kitchen table, set oh-so neatly upon their desired spaces on the surface, was supper meant for a _family_ of three.

Three plates. Three napkins. Three sets of utensils.

 _"Lillebror...lillebror…_

 _...kom tilbake til meg…"_ ( _"Little brother...little brother...Come back to me"_ in Norwegian)

Mathias could hear his significant other's lamenting. The house had become a quiet and gloomy place, only the sounds of Lukas' muffled sobbing could be heard.

This had been going on for a week and three days.

 _A week and three days._

Mathias had been rejected from being able to console him for a week and three days.

The Dane was certain that he was going to break this streak of gloom, he had to.

He reached his hand into one of the kitchen drawers, pulling out a string of keys to each room in the house. Grasping onto an intricately carved key to the master bedroom, Mathias made his way to the door and set the key into the lock. _This ends now, Lukas._

There, lying half strewn on his unmade bed, wetting the comforter with a river of tears, was Norge.

Lukas' face was something between extreme fury and shock. "M-Mathias…! Hva faen gjør du her?!" ("What the hell are you doing here?" in Norwegian)

"We need to talk."

"Th-there's nothing to talk about," Lukas managed to hiss, "Now get out of my room."

"For your information, this happens to be _our_ room. I've been crashing on the couch ever since you've locked the door tight after coming home from work every single night." Mathias sat down at the foot of the bed, much to Lukas' dismay. "What's with that, by the way?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. Now leave me alone." Lukas pushed at Mathias' leg with his palms. "Go away."

"No, Luke." Mathias grabbed Lukas' hands and set them down with one hand. "You need to tell me what's going on with you."

The latter rolled his puffy eyes. "I thought you'd already know. But then again, you're a dense helmet of a head."

"I am, which is why you need to tell me what's wrong."

Lukas shifted in his spot on the bed, the springs underneath squealing with every twitch of his muscles. "Mathias...I've been getting the feeling like this case will end badly."

"What?! But Luke, we've got evidence!"

"I know, it's not about that. I mean...this is the Vrede en Liefde we're talking about. Nobody in their grasp gets out alive. Think about it. My father...Emil's father...my Mor. They were all associated somehow with them, and they were all executed."

"But Emil isn't associated with them." Mathias tried to keep his tone light.

"Do you remember..." Lukas lowered his gaze. "Do you remember Ivan Braginsky's secret room? The one with all those photographs and documents about...my family?"

"Yes...?" Mathias was kind of surprised; this was the most Lukas had ever spoken.

"The Vrede en Liefde...they hired Braginsky to monitor my Mor and Far...they killed Far, then they kept watch of Emil's faðir, and even then...he was killed too. What's going to become of Emil? He's been taken by them...He'll be murdered in cold blood just like the others. The Vrede en Liefde didn't murder them just because they wanted to. It was because my family, specifically, was a grudge that they held onto. My parents were ex-gang members of this mafia. Mor and Far owed them money, money that was used to take care of _me_ and Emil."

"You...you kinda lost me there, Luke."

"Don't you see? I figured it out, the moment I realized that Emil had gone missing, instead of rotting in a blood puddle on the floor of that old diner. They were never after Emil, Mathias. They were after _me_. Someone has to pay back the money that my parents couldn't. It's not a responsibility of the Stielsson family; it's something solely meant for the Bondeviks."

"What're trying to say, Luke?" Mathias wasn't exactly sure of what was going on, but the puzzle pieces were slowly snapping into place.

" _God_ , you're such a dunce." Lukas' eyes started tearing up again. "In order to get Emil back, I need to pay off my parents' debt." And there were _a lot_ of digits that he needed to pay off.

For a while, none of them said anything. The squeaking of the mattress and the soft pattering of Lukas' tears were all any of them could hear. It was so much for Mathias to take in; _all of this was about the money that Lukas' parents forgot to pay off?_ Why would they take Emil? What will happen after Lukas hands the money over? And the million dollar question-how the _hell_ was Luke ever going to earn enough money to cover up that huge amount of debt?

"...What's your plan?" Mathias managed to croak out.

"I'm going to get the money I need."

"How?"

"I have half of the money I need in my bank account. I'll just withdraw it, and then earn the rest from working."

Irritation started bubbling up in his chest. "What if it doesn't work? They could just be using Emil as bait to kill you."

"I don't care. I'll hand myself over, as long as Emil is safe."

"Like hell you will, Lukas. I won't let you." Mathias glared.

"You aren't responsible of me. _You aren't my guardian angel, Dane._ I can do what I want, and I want to save my family." Lukas seethed out from clenched teeth.

"You're not saving anyone by sacrificing yourself, Luke! They're trying to rile you up, they're trying to make you do things like this!"

"Does it look like I care? The Vrede en Liefde will kill Emil if I don't do anything!" Lukas started raising his voice.

"God, can't you see that you're not alone in this?! Toni, Lovino, and I are working our asses off trying to find him too! You're holding the whole burden on yourself! I'm your _fiancé_ , Luke. You can't even tell me what's wrong until I find out myself or until something like this happens!"

Lukas froze in place. "What does that have to do with anything?" He whispered.

"It has to do with everything, Luke! I thought that being fiancés would make it easier for you to open up; but I was wrong. You still push me away, you're still distant, and I have to constantly ask in order for you to tell me things." Mathias's expression was pleading and distraught.

Lukas clutched at the hem of his shirt tightly. "You don't understand either! What if it had been your brother, Mathias? What if it was Berwald who was in the hands of the Vrede en Liefde? God, you wouldn't know if they were being tortured or not! You wouldn't know if they were dead already, and you would constantly worry everyday that if you managed to even pay off that debt...if all you would be getting in return wasn't your brother...but what was left of him! I enter this house, thinking that Emil's here, welcoming us home after a long day of work. I think that I'm making dinner for three. I think that he's here telling me to stop forcing him to call me 'big brother,' but then...I-I realize that none of that is real! I'm not being welcomed into this empty house, I'm not making dinner for three, I'm not being scolded. It's my burden to carry around here, and I understand that you, and the rest of the team are trying to ease my grief, but you need to understand that I'm not just going to sit around all day, waiting for some clue to show up. I know how to get this done, I know how to get Emil back. And I'm going to do it, whether I have Elizabeta's help, the team's help, or your help or not."

"Agh, goddamnit Luke!" Mathias clawed at his face in frustration, sending one fist into the wall. A large dent was left once he withdrew. "God, I wish you would just listen to me!"

"I don't want to listen to you, or anyone!" Lukas sprung away from Mathias in a heartbeat, standing a large distance away from the man. "You don't understand anyway! You don't understand this situation, or me!" Lukas' hand unknowingly swiped against a picture frame, sending it sprawling onto the wooden flooring. "God, you know what, if you don't like how I am, then take your damned ring back!" Lukas yanked the sparkling blue ring off of his finger and threw it to the floor, where it tumbled under the bed.

"Lukas…!" Mathias flinched as if he had been slapped, but the pain that Lukas' last statement made was quickly swallowed down. "You're right, you're definitely right, Lukas. I don't understand you. I don't understand you, Lukas Bondevik, whom I met in the court of the law, whom I'm engaged to, whom I've lived with for, what? Three years now? Yeah, I definitely don't understand you."

"Mathias-"

"No, Lukas. In fact, I don't understand you at all, so why don't I just leave you alone?" His eyes began to swim with tears, spilling over in thick streams of salted water. "If...i-if this is what you think...If you think I don't understand you...then...I won't fight back."

Lukas' brain went into overdrive. _Oh no. No, I know what'll happen after this. He's going to-_ "Wait-wait, Mathias!" The larger man ran out of the bedroom, letting the door softly touch close instead of slamming shut. "...No…"

Mathias was always boisterous, he wasn't sad.

He was loud, obnoxious...the man had no filter, whatsoever.

But...since when did Mathias become so…

 _...So..._

 _...So somber?_

"It's because of me," Lukas mumbled to himself, "I'm the one that made him like that."

Stupid. I'm so stupid. I should've listened...but...I don't think there was any other way I could've handled the situation. Stupid Dane...stupid gang...stupid me.

There, lying around a field of broken glass was a picture frame holding a family portrait of a jubilant Mathias, a stone-faced Emil, and-a rare occasion to behold: Lukas, his smile radiating as much happiness as he could.

The present was never as appealing as the past. Especially when you've lost everyone you love.

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 **A/N: Well that was a butt-load of pain. I actually think both me and KiPanda cried a bit while writing it. This needed to happen at some point thought. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Julchen Nguyen is Fem!Prussia. More will be explained about what happened and stuff later on.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again! Hope you enjoy this chapter it was a lot of fun to write, and remeber some tissues becuase why not! Also I'm going on vacation in a few hours so we won't have an update for like 2 weeks!**

 **The first part of this chapter is the continuation of last chapter, and second part is placed in the present day of what's happening now.**

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"Mathias?! Is that you?" Lilac eyes gawked at the curled up Danish man on the front porch.

The Dane said nothing, eyes cat downward, filled with nothing but distance and fog.

"Berwald, I think we have a visitor."

-linebreaklinebreakwahahanahahalalala-

Getting up the next morning was no easy task. His head was nudged between his hands, his legs drawn up to his chest, tangled in the covers. He groaned as the morning light blazed against his puffy eyes, sunlight reflecting off of fractals of broken glass from yesterday's fallen photograph.

The usual routine began, this time a little less obnoxious, a little less annoying. A little more lonely. The house was filled with silence, even as he finished getting ready and prepared his morning coffee.

 _"Good morning, Luke!"_ The Dane always greeted him in the morning with his chirpy voice and a kiss to the cheek.

The Norwegian took a small sip of coffee, tracing his fingers around the spot on his cheek. He could practically feel the invisible pair of Danish lips leaving their equally invisible mark on his skin.

"God morgen, Mathias..." Another swallow.

 _"You guys are gross."_ Emil would say next, on a typical morning, feeding Mr. Puffin a small can of packed mackerel. Mr. Puffin had been left unattended now, a nearly empty can of mackerel in its cage.

"God morgen, lillebror..." And another sip of the warm liquid.

Lukas wrinkled his nose at the sudden burst of an odd taste to his coffee. The bitterness was there, along with the several spoons of cream. Hidden among the black coffee taste was the slightest hint of saltiness. It was sharp, unpleasant.

Lukas almost laughed when he figured out why his drink had taken to a more unsavory taste. It was his tears.

His tongue curled up against the taste with each forced sip until the mug was empty.

And then he left the gloomy house.

-linebreaklinebreakrahanahapolahakoala-

"What do you mean you're not going to work today?!" The Finnish boy cried out.

"Don't wanna..." Mathias nearly whispered, inching his face closer to his drawn up knees.

Berwald pat Tino's head, and brought Tino behind him. "Y'r not g'nna jus' lay aroun' an' do noth'n."

Mathias became silent, then, tears rolling down his cheeks, his hair becoming matted with every drop that landed on his now-scattered hair.

"Y'r bein' s'lly, M'th'as. Get up, go t' w'rk. We w'n't let ya st'y 'nside th's house."

The Dane sighed and slowly lifted himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. "Y-you're right," he sniffled. "I'm gonna go to work." He took his coat, which he had donned upon himself last night, and made his way to the door.

"Wait, Mathias." Tino called out suddenly.

"J-ja?"

Two pairs of arms wrapped around the Dane, enveloping him in a warm embrace. He wasn't alone; no, Lukas and him weren't the only ones that this whole ordeal was impacting. He could feel Tino crying into the fabric of his coat, Berwald hugging them both tighter. They pulled away, wishing him luck.

And for the first time since Emil went missing, Mathias was happy.

-linebreaklinebreakbacktotheofficedundundunsoapoperastuffhonhonhon-

"CAPTAIN! WE FOUND SOMETHING!" Lovino was smiling that rare smile that showed genuine happiness, something that his Spaniard adored and enjoyed just as much as his feistiness.

Elizabeta looked up from her many papers-documents of a specific case, a case about a specific Prussian supermodel. "Oh? Give me a report."

"That sweet-smelling residue that I found turned out to be a trail leading to this envelope smothered with the stuff!" Antonio beamed and held out. "The residue, after testing it in the laboratory, turns out to be an expensive perfume imported from France."

Elizabeta blinked dumbly for a minute. "I...see…Please, if you don't mind, let me hang onto this piece of evidence."

Lovino narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell would we do that?"

"Well, for starters, I'm the Captain of this department. Secondly, that evidence is something that belongs in an ongoing investigation. So, gimme."

Antonio complied, handing the spritzed envelope over easily.

Lovino gawked. "Wh-What?! Just like that, tomato bastard?! You just...You just handed over something that took FOREVER to dig up, and you're just going to give her all of that work?! How do you know she doesn't have ulterior motives?!"

"Calm down, mi tomate! Lovi, this is Elizabeta we're talking about. Never will she ever hide anything from us, I can guarantee that!"

Elizabeta nodded and smiled weakly. "That's...that's right. I would never hide anything from you guys. Now get back to work."

 _A perfume imported from France, huh? Interesting...so you're making it easier than I thought. You also care for them, too._

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"...Captain…?"

"Come in! What do you nee- Oh, Lukas. It's you." Elizabeta's eyebrows settled, her expression one of mild distaste.

"I...um...came to tell you something."

"What? That you made another hospital visit? That, what? You're here to complain about how I do things around here?"

"I came here to apologize, sir."

Elizabeta froze in place for a moment, then slowly sat down in her chair. "Sit down, Lukas. And close the door behind you."

Lukas nodded and followed orders, then rested himself in a chair of his own.

"Why?"

"...Why?"

"Yes; why are you here to apologize to me?"

"I had a….dawn of realization, I guess."

"Mathias put you up to this...didn't he?"

"N-no, sir. This is out of my own accord. Actually, he and I...we, er...we had an argument last night."

"You put that too lightly. I can see how bad you're hurt on your face."

"I...uh...he didn't hurt me, sir."

"No, he didn't. Not physically, at least. You both hurt each other pretty bad, I'm guessing."

"More like it was me entirely."

"How?"

"I said some...pretty bad things that I regret saying."

"Why did you say them?"

Lukas stared at his hands, turning them palm-up, then palm-down repeatedly. "Anko...is always trying to be there for me. Annoyingly often, he does this. Ever since Emil's gone missing...I've been putting too much on myself that I've been affecting other people. He told me this, he told me I shouldn't put the burden on myself...but...I feel it's in my right to. So I told him that...and he brought up our engagement. He told me that I...keep distancing myself from him...he told me that I never listen to him unless he asks things over and over again. I…" Lukas rested a hand in front of his eyes. "I was wrong. I said something horrible...I did something horrible…"

"...What did you do?" Elizabeta's voice was barely a whisper, all anger swept away.

The Norwegian choked back a sob, taking a glance at the hand in which the ring should've been. "I threw my ring away...I told him to take it back…"

Elizabeta stifled a gasp, watching as Luke clawed through his golden locks and yanked at his shirt as if he was ripping his heart out of his chest.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry for everything, Mathias...I'm sorry." Lukas continued to repeat this mantra, sending his heart over the edge, as well as a river of tears from his eyes.

"...Lukas…" Elizabeta hugged Lukas to her chest. "It's going to be okay. Listen...all you need to do is make up with him, alright? I'm sure that you guys will be back tomorrow holding hands and doing whatever you guys do in the upstairs bathroom."

Lukas tried to laugh, only managing to cough out a hoarse wheeze.

"Hey...I've got something to say, too, Bondevik." Elizabeta whispered, her hold on the Norwegian officer tightening. Lukas grunted in response. "I'm...I'm sorry, too...for saying the stuff about Emil. I...wasn't being a good leader, let alone a good comrade, so...I apologize for my behavior."

Lukas cleared his throat, testing his voice with a quiet hum before speaking. "I never got to finish my apology, sir. Um...I'm sorry for being so rude to you, I'm sorry for bringing up that sensitive topic about you and your boyfriend. That was uncalled for on my part, and it wasn't respectful. Elizabeta...I'm sorry."

They were silent for a while, neither one of them saying anything. Silence was something Lukas had become accommodated to now, he forced himself to lavish in it, keeping his expression apathetic, his tears nonexistent.

"Lukas...there's something that I should show you. I think it will help you with finding your brother." The Norwegian's eyes widened. "I know that I'm supposed to tell the group as a whole...but…"

"It's alright, sir. You can show me."

She took out an envelope-still holding onto Lukas, and immediately upon unveiling the piece of evidence a strong, clotting sweet aroma swamped over the room.

"This is an envelope that Carriedo uncovered at the scene of the crime. In it, I believe is substantial evidence for locating your brother...but that's just a hunch."

Lukas raised a brow. "That's awfully specific for a so-called 'hunch.'"

Elizabeta laughed. "Trust me on this, Lukas."

The Norwegian responded with a hum, taking the envelope and pocketing it safely. Suddenly, an idea popped up into his head. "You know, I think that there's someone who-"

Elizabeta cut him off quickly, knowing exactly what Lukas was going to imply. It was just Captain's intuition. "You know I'm going to keep Leon off the case, right?"

He had to smile at that. "Under...one condition. Listen here, sir."

 _Leon is going to help us, even if he isn't on the case. And I have a way that will pull him in without him even knowing until he gets here. And, one more thing, sir. He's going to find a way to get you to put him on the case. He's a persistent one, you know._

 _Just like someone else I know._

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The hospital hallways were always white, always empty (mostly), and always silent (again, mostly). Lukas always cherished any silence he had to his disposal, but...silence in a hospital...it was starting to grow uneasy on him. Yes, there was a purpose for him wandering around these empty hallways. He was trying to find a room. More specifically, someone's hospital room (that wasn't very specific, was it?).

Someone else was also looking for the same room.

"Mathias…" The Norwegian breathed out unsteadily.

Mathias' eyes bugged out of their sockets for a moment before clouding over with a certain deadpan that just wasn't...Mathias. "Oh, it's you, Lukas."

"What are you doing here?" Cobalt blue orbs narrowed suspiciously. "I didn't think you visited often."

"I'm just checking up on the little guy. He is one of the employees in the cafe, if you remember."

"...Of course…"

Mathias made no reply back, starting onto a new topic. "...So, uh...what're you doing here?"

"I have some important information to tell Leon. Or...to give to him, perhaps."

"...Okay."

"...Bye."

"...Bye…"

Lukas ran up the stairs as fast as he could to Leon's room, vaguely aware of the Dane following behind slowly.

This envelope was the only chance Leon had at finding Emil, and it was the only chance that Lukas had to saving his family.

The Norwegian burst through the door, clutching onto the envelope in his hand. He could see Leon, slanted eyes blinking from the shock of having someone so loudly enter his room.

"Leon...the officers in the station...they have..." Lukas' words were cut off when his entire chest heaved in a series of heavy wheezing. "...have...been looking around town...and we think we may...have found a new update on Emil's whereabouts."

Leon's jaw had dropped open then, an unreadable expression, something between elation and skepticism. "W-what is it? What happened?! Did you, like, find him?!"

Lukas hadn't realized the other person's presence until he had felt an arm snake around his middle. Eyes widened in alarm for a moment, and Lukas glanced back at Mathias from the corner of his eye. He could read Mathias' hidden expression behind the false set of bright cerulean eyes instantly. _We have to act natural if we don't want any suspicion to rise up on us._

 _Just act cool...just act like...like everything is fine, just fine._ Lukas breathed in through his nose and tapped his fingers on Mathias' arm, a sign of agreement.

Mathias pressed Lukas' back to the core of his chest, running his fingers up and down the spot between Norwegian's shoulder blades slowly.

 _It feels like…_

Lukas frowned. Like what? _Like old times? Like that argument never happened?_ He shook his head slightly so it was barely noticeable. _No, it feels like...he had never left me. Like we were never in this...situation._

The Dane's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "No, we didn't find him yet. But we do have a couple photos and addresses that were uncovered in an old warehouse a little over forty eight hours ago. The addresses were handwritten in pen, so the forensic scientists compared its handwriting with a sample of Emil's. It wasn't a match. However; the handwriting does match a certain someone in the Vrede en Liefde."

Lukas' lip twitched downwards. So Mathias had known about the letter as well… It can't be helped; _Toni and Lovino must've told him about it as well._

Leon raised one of his thick eyebrows at Mathias. "Who?"

"Francis Bonnefoy." Lukas responded flatly and put the envelope on display. "The addresses and photos are encased in here. We managed to match up the places with their addresses, so all the other officers need to do is find out which one Ice is being held in." The envelope was tossed into the hospitalized Asian's hands.

"I still don't get it; how did you guys even find this stuff?" Leon's eyes were on the envelope, scouring the white paper with distaste.

Mathias decided to avoid his question then, deciding to tell Leon the details of his arrival to the hospital. "You see, after you told us what happened, we went to the scene of the crime. Apparently Francis called in saying that there was, and I quote, 'a young man in this (horrible) condition downtown and he looks absolutely deathly!' After that call, the Captain sent Luke, Lovino, Antonio, and I off downtown to rescue you! It was a search-and-rescue mission, as they call it! I was so scared for you and Emil, man! When we found you nearly dead, we all freaked and made sure you got to the hospital super quick!" Mathias released his warm grip on Lukas to flail his arms around, his hand gesture referring to the hospital they were in.

"Does the Captain know that Francis is...?" Leon's words faded midway.

"No, she doesn't know that he's part of the Vrede en Liefde. We've made sure to keep that detail silent." Mathias replied.

"You were in intensive surgery for a long time, about a week's time approximately. If you didn't have bandages wrapped around you, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Ja; but I have no idea how you could've gotten them around yourself, that gunshot was pretty severe." Mathias frowned.

Leon's visage lowered. "Bandages? I don't remember any bandages, let alone doing them. I could barely move my body."

"Well then...Maybe Emil did 'em!" Mathias grinned brightly.

"Shut it, Anko. Emil can't bandage anything; he can't take the sight of blood." Lukas flicked the Danish man's forehead lightly, and the taller man elicited a noise from the back of his throat.

"Enough about this, already! I still don't understand what's going on, and I don't know where Em is!" Leon cried out in exasperation. The boy was really too impatient. But then again, he had been anxious for something, anything about Emil lately.

"After you told us what happened, we decided to search Emil's last known whereabouts, which was the diner you had been found in. For the first couple of days we couldn't find anything. There was nothing but crates and boxes in the other room, all empty. The floor was polished and clean and the walls were in perfect condition, even though they weren't in use anymore."

"Super OCD, wouldn't you say?" Mathias laughed more to himself than to Lukas.

"Whatever, just shut up, Dane." Lukas pretended not to hear Mathias' sharp cry of pain when he pushed his elbow into the other man's stomach. "Anyway...after actually scraping the whole diner through, checking under crates and boxes, peeling away the tiles on the floor and such, we found this envelope jutting out from in between a pair of crates near the back exit. There isn't an actual time stamp on the evidence, but if we had to guess, we'd have to say that it was left there a night or two before we had gotten to the scene to investigate. And after looking at the contents, we decided it was best to come to you."

"Am I actually going to be like one of you guys? Officers?" Leon asked, amber eyes alight. "Can I actually search with you guys for Ice?"

Lukas' cobalt eyes reached up to the pair cerulean ones that, in turn, were also resting on the shorter man's. A silent decision was made between the both of them. "I'm sorry, Leon. But your injuries are severe. We can't let you on the field with your condition like that."

The Asian pouted and crossed his arms angrily. "But I can heal! I'll heal quickly! I'll-"

Lukas shook his head. "Leon, we won't drop you from your work as a consultant, but we won't let you work for the time being. You're hurt, and even if you did heal, you aren't part of the force and the safety of others is always our top priority."

"But-"

"The answer is no, Leon. You need rest." Lukas' lips curved downward. It was time to put his foot down before he gave in. The plan had to work perfectly, no matter what.

Leon glowered. "Whatever; I, like, don't know why you gave me this envelope if I can't help out."

"Because we're counting on you to figure out which building this dirty gang is hiding my baby bro in." Lukas clapped his hand on Leon's shoulder. "You're the only one here right now that knows what happened in that diner, and you know what type of people these gang members are like. Use your instincts; what happened to that smartass Asian brain of yours?" Lukas dared not smile.

"Hm." Leon looked down on the envelope once more. "I guess I could see what I can think of..."

"Great!" Mathias smiled one of his genuine smiles. "We're counting on you, buddy!"

Mathias was the first one to leave, even if it was just a matter of a few seconds. Lukas could still feel the sunshine that Mathias had resonated from his palms on the fabric of his uniform. Lukas took one last look at the boy before leaving. Soon, he'll be the one who locates my brother. _I'll finally find Emil. I just need you, Leon, to tell me. Soon._

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-Present Day Sort of Kind of-

"Officer Bondevik and Officer Kohler, please come down to the Captain's office."

Here he was, sipping his coffee, the same old bitter taste distracting his brain with the quiet buzz of caffeine. Lukas set his mug down; half expecting the people he worked with to gossip about what else he may have gotten in trouble for; but alas, silence was all he received.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lukas saw a tousled-haired man stand up as well, making his way towards the Captain's office.

"Hei." Lukas managed to choke out.

"Hej," was the equally strained response.

They stared at each other, looking at the other through the corner of their eyes, sending longing, yet distant glances. It was all just...awkward. Lukas half expected Mathias to burst into tears, or at least look away.

But he didn't.

It was more like...the Dane was inspecting him-his body, his mind, his soul-it was starting to feel overwhelmingly uncomfortable, partly because Lukas was finally snapping; he was finally starting to crumble under the many nights (or at least it felt like many nights) sleeping alone, waking up to empty soundless mornings, and coming home to monotonous droning afternoons. He could still feel the cold comforters latching onto his sweat-drenched skin as he woke up from the same dream-or rather, nightmare-he had been having...which turned out to be reality.

They really were gone.

"Hello, you two." Elizabeta's voice snapped Lukas from his reverie. "I'm glad you two could make it."

"Hm…" Lukas' eyes dragged up to meet cerulean blue staring right back.

"...Are you two good…?" Elizabeta raised a brow, switching focus from the Dane to the Norwegian.

"Ja, it's all good. We are...um...we are doing just fine, sir." Okay, so that was a…complete and utter lie. Even Mathias' expression contorted to that of both pain and surprise before settling in its usual dorky grin.

"Y-yup! Lukas and I...we're, uh...everything's all good!" Lukas could feel an uncomfortable aura coming from the man next to him, stabbing him this way and that with-and to his surprise- _disappointmen_ t.

"Alright, then. I'll make this meeting brief then, because it obviously looks like you two need a... _break_...if you catch my drift." Both men flushed red at that, mostly out of awkward embarrassment, because-hell, they _definitely_ weren't in the mood for _that_ right now. "I am requesting that you two become my personal office guards for the day tomorrow. I've received word from my friend, Kiku Honda, that Leon will be discharged tomorrow, even though Leon himself hasn't been told that yet. Anyway, the first place that he'll be going, and I think that we all know this, will be my office. He'll be asking to participate on the search for Emil, and I don't want him to endanger himself again."

Mathias and Lukas nodded in approval, not a noise of protest being given from Lukas, surprisingly.

"Till then, I am requesting that you two take this day off and do whatever the hell you guys do." Elizabeth coughed into her fist. "Including each other."

"Sir, do you really think that's necessary?" Mathias' face was a faded shade of light pink.

"Yes. Just go home and make out, for crying out loud!" Elizabeta yelled. Lukas was sure that the whole police station was looking their way.

Mathias and Lukas eyes each other with varied expressions of pain and embarrassment before taking their leave.

Well, that was awkward.

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His twisted the knob in his hands, and pushed the door open with uncertainty, as if he didn't know what he was doing there.

"I'm ho-" _I'm home…_

"Welcome back, Mathias! How was work?" Tino glided up to the entry room, and the Dane watched Berwald follow closely in tow.

"It was…fine, I guess. Just like any other day."

Berwald was holding their puppy, Hanatamago. "W' g't to take H'n'tamag' to th' vet."

Tino nodded. "It's just a regular check up. We'll be gone for a few hours, the veterinarian's isn't the closest building near us. You'll be home alone for a while, since Peter's at school. You gonna be okay while we're gone?"

Mathias scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Of course. I'm not a kid, y'know."

The Fin and Swede exchanged amused expressions. "Sure, Mathias." They closed the door behind them, leaving Mathias alone in the house.

The next few hours were filled with nothing but mindless wandering; opening and closing doors, switching the stove flames on and off (which probably wasn't very safe or smart), and taking naps whenever applicable.

It was on his third nap that Mathias realized just how lonely he was at the moment. Or rather, since the time he had been away from his real home.

"Lukas…" He breathed out into the comforters of his guest room bed.

Of course Lukas' statement had made him upset, and it still did. But...there was something tugging on his heartstrings, it tugged and pulled harshly at him every time he thought about the Norwegian man now.

 _"God, you know what, if you don't like how I am, then take your damned ring back!"_

Mathias loved Lukas; he did, he truly did. His stoic composure, his cobalt eyes that showed emotion only when he managed to slip up on holding in his feelings. He loved his smiles, his awkward giggles, both of which were rare to behold. He loved him, but sometimes the Dane wished that Lukas would show that he loved him back.

Well, he did when he proposed to him, and he did show his affection mildly...that is...he did so occasionally.

 _Ugh...This is killing me._

It's not like Lukas would care if he was gone or not, right? Were they even husbands-to-be anymore? Mathias laughed humorlessly. Of course not. They weren't even speaking, how could they be engaged?

 _Do it, Mathias. Visit him. You know you want to._

"Of course not! I'm still upset with him!"

 _I want to talk this out like civilized people, we have to stop ignoring each other like angry children._

"Well…" Mathias sighed to himself. Man, his conscience was really on top of its game today. "...I have a point."

 _Exactly, so take your own advice and get the hell out of here before you burn the house down._

Mathias shrugged on the light jacket he had brought with him the day he fled from the house. However, his hand refused to turn the knob, as another protest had found his way to his lips. "Wait, there's one problem. How am I even going to get into the house? Lukas sure as hell won't let me in."

He thought he heard his conscience laugh. _Did I really forget already? Him and I both have keys to the house, right?_

Just to be safe, Mathias patted his jacket pockets lightly, feeling the hard outline of the house keys on his finger pads. "Alright; now I'm ready."

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Yeah, when Lukas heard the first knock at the door, and a not-so-subtle "Hey Lukas, it's me, open up please? Maybe?" he knew that he wasn't ever going to open that door; not even if the Dane was crying on his doorstep, begging for forgiveness.

Okay, so maybe he was being a little bit of an ass to his fiance.

"No soliciting!" He yelled out from his side of the door, loud enough so that he was sure the whole neighborhood could hear him. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "...Go home, Mathias. You're drunk. Or something."

"Lukas, please open the door."

The Norwegian huffed and retreated back to his bedroom. There was no way that he was going to let Mathias in, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Luke, you do know that I have a key to the house, right?" Lukas cringed as he heard Mathias' yelling through his thick wooden doors and the small clink of the spare key turning in the knob.

Lukas buried himself deeper into the pile of comforters he was currently hiding in. Of course, the Dane would find out sooner or later where he was, but Lukas didn't want to see him in the meantime.

A part of him yearned for that depressing silence again.

"Lukas...listen. We need to talk." So Mathias knew immediately where to look for him; well, it wasn't like it was that hard of a hiding place-this was the last place they were in before the whole...ring throwing incident. "I'm tired of acting to the public like nothing's wrong, then coming back home-well, going back to different homes."

Lukas narrowed his eyes. _Different homes? Mathias has been going to another person's house?_ He tried to ignore the ever growing stinging sensation that was stabbing at his chest.

"I don't want to do this anymore; I don't want to stay away anymore. No matter how upset we are with each other, it's impossible for me to just leave." Lukas felt his stomach flip, the Dane's words searing into his already melting heart.

"I…" Mathias took a deep breath. "I can't stop thinking about you, Lukas. Even if I am still upset with you. You, you, Lukas Bondevik, plague my existence. You're the only person I have ever wanted...needed like this. Every part of you, Lukas: Your hair, that cross clip of yours that I gave you, your deep blue eyes...I can't stop staring into them; that signature apathetic straight face of yours both riles me up and makes me want to kiss you to pieces. I wonder if I'll ever see you break into that brilliant smile of yours again. I...Lukas, I...I love you."

The Norwegian shivered; Mathias' words had sent warm chills reverberating through his spine, indenting direct hits into his heart. "God...Mathias, I-"

"But despite all of this, throughout all of the love I've felt for you, I don't think I've ever been more hurt by anyone else in my life either." Mathias gripped the door frame, those thick muscles in his arms surely rippling at the force of his grip. "The same scene keeps replaying inside of my head; the way you smacked that frame away, the way you threw that ring wherever it is now. All I know is that," he choked back an oncoming storm of tears, "that ring is definitely not on your finger right now."

Lukas froze under the covers; those words were chilly, scalding like dry ice digging tunnels into his skin. He said nothing.

"Nor…" The old nickname burned, "From the moment I first met you, I knew that you were something else. You're the one that balances me out, there's nobody else like it. I know you're cold when you need to be, you know how to stop me from doing anything stupid. But...Lukas...everyday, I'm always trying to let you know how special you are to me; but you're always pushing me away. I may not understand you, Lukas, but I still love you...whatever happens."

It was gnawing at him in the inside; the way Mathias spoke, the words he spoke, the way his body slumped against the doorframe. It was driving him and his beating heart mad, a sharp blend of frustration, shock, and tears taking control of his body. "M-Ma-"

The Dane's body resigned itself to the floor, slowly sinking to the carpeted hardwood. "I came here...to apologize, Lukas. I'm not looking for one back, I just-"

In an instant, something soft smashed into his face, throwing his head back into the doorframe behind him. "Wha-?"

"You idiot! You think that you're the only one that thinks about this kind of stuff?!" Lukas kicked the comforters away from his body, sending another pillow at the Dane's face. "I spend every waking moment of the day regretting what I did, I find myself at every hour imagining the empty illusions of the past- _it's painfu_ l, Mathias. _Dammit_...you're such a moron...making this so dramatic, ugh. So annoying."

Mathias' visage, once screwed up from the pain of slamming his head against the door frame, was now twisted over in genuine laughter. The bubbles of glee were a sound that Lukas hadn't heard in a long time now, and it was refreshing to hear.

"What're you laughing at, you _siden_?!" Lukas was trying not to smile. This reminded him too much of old times, he was afraid they would all fade away. "I thought you were supposed to be sorry."

Mathias wiped the remnants of tears from his eyes, the smile on his face sombering. "Lukas…"

The Norwegian man said nothing, only scooting himself over on the bed. Mathias made himself comfortable, pulling the mountain of comforters over him.

Lukas was the first to instigate the conversation. "Can we talk about this…?" He whispered; his expression as apathetic as ever, but there was a certain fragility to it that the Dane couldn't put his finger on.

"Go ahead; I'm listening."

"About that time...I don't mean to be distant, Mathias."

The Dane was taken aback for a moment, cerulean eyes widening. "Lukas…" His lips grew into a tight line. "...It's who you are, there's nothing you can change about that."

It was time to reveal himself, to show his Dane who he was. "I know that. I'm reserved, Mathias. There will be things-a lot of things that I keep to myself. I put up my defenses so people won't hurt me, I get angry with you because...because you're always so damn annoying and you and I both know we can't do anything about it. Despite all of this, my love for you never withers, Mathias. You're always on my mind, you and Emil both."

"You're constantly looking out for him, Lukas. He's not that dependent little brother that would cling to your shirt sleeves anymore. He's an adult, whether you like it or not."

 _"I know that!"_ Lukas lowered his tone, turning his head away. "...I know he's not little anymore."

"Then...why are you so worried for him? You're constantly throwing your stress levels out of whack because of it."

"He's my lillebror. I can't just...I can't just not think about him. Even if he is old enough to be independent, he's in the most dangerous of situations right now! I told you this before, and I'll say it again. I don't know if he's even _alive_ right now, Mathias."

The Dane said nothing for awhile, and once again, that oh-so-familiar wave of tense silence swept over them both, neither bothering to really take a glance at each other.

So it was going to be the same turnout as the original argument, the same topics of disagreement, the same outcome: the slamming of doors and silent crying.

"I'll…" Mathias swallowed to moisten his now dry throat. "...I'll tell you what I think, Lukas."

 _What…?_ "Mathias…?" Lukas turned to look at the Dane, whose back was turned to him.

"I think...that Emil is scared, I really do think so. I think that he's going through a lot of unspeakable suffering right now. I think he's lost, I think all he wants right now is to be back home with the lot of us giving him all of the very bestest of our hugs to him, right now, Luke." Mathias closed his eyes, this action unbeknownst to the Norwegian. "But…even through all of what he's feeling right now, I know that he's still hanging in there. Those crooks aren't going to get rid of him so fast; after all, they want something from you, that's why they're doing this, right?"

It wasn't the most reassuring of facts, yes, but...it was true. "I guess you're right…" Lukas mumbled, squinting his eyes from the sudden glare of sunlight that had bounced off of the still broken picture frame on the floor. He would have to clean that up soon.

"L-Lukas?"

"Yes?" The slightly shorter man turned his body towards Mathias, holding back a gasp as his face was met with the other man's just centimeters apart.

"I may not understand you and you may give me the cold shoulder from time to time...but I want you to know that...that I love you for all of who you are." Lukas could see the sudden bubbling of tears creeping up to Mathias' eyelids, those cerulean jewels seeming to appear as endless oceans.

Lukas trembled at the words, afraid yet mesmerized. Those words scared him; was he going to disappear, was this all a dream? But those words...the way he had said them...it took his breath away, it awakened this emotional side to him that he wasn't able to access in such a long while. "I l-love y-you too, Mathias... _for faen_ …!" Lukas' hands placed themselves over his eyes, desperately rubbing at the streams of tears that refused to dry.

Mathias, upon seeing his soulmate breaking, finally crumbling, drowning under the flood of emotions, started crying himself. "N-Nor-! I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Luke!" He wailed, burying his sopping face into the crook of Lukas' neck, wrapping his arms tightly around him.

Lukas gripped a fistful of Mathias' shirt, sobbing even harder into the Dane's chest. It felt so warm, it felt so comforting.

They spent what seemed like hours trapped in each other's shaking embraces, tears soaking in the fabric of their uniforms. Even as their eyes refused to spill any more of their salty sorrows, they continued to cry, their voices growing hoarse and cracked.

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-Later that Night-

It took a while, but they eventually calmed. The shattered picture frame was cleaned up, the Dane promising the Norwegian that he would have his Swedish brother repair the frame. Lukas and Mathias scoured under the bed, their fingers picking through all of the dust to find that lost ring-the bandage to cover up the slowly mending scars. A sanctuary for the puffy little dust bunnies and whatever dirt had made its way under the bed, the small piece was still intact, shining and sparkling as the day it was first proposed with.

They sat upon the foot of the mattress, Lukas' fingers tracing the outline of the ring, pressing on the dark blue sapphires that lined the silver metal. A certain calm had washed over them, they both had grown tired of arguing, of staying away. It was impossible; they had given up their silly argument, the only way they could remain hopeful for the person they had lost was with remaining strong with each other.

"I take it you're not going to go back to whoever's house you were staying at?" Lukas leaned his head on Mathias' shoulder, light wheat-colored hair brushing against the other's chin.

Mathias hummed in response. "Yeah; I was about to light their house on fire anyways. I was at Ber's in case you were wondering."

Lukas smiled and laughed to himself. "I see; you weren't cheating on me after all."

The expression Mathias wore at first was hurt, but then morphed into a small smile. "You kidding? I haven't had eyes for anybody else, Luke."

Lukas laces their fingers together. "Hei," he focused his line of sight at the Dane's face. "Mathias?"

The Danish man turned to focus at his lover's visage. "Yeah?" That demeanor made of pure sunshine was back.

"I'm sorry."

Mathias blinked in confusion. "For what? If it's for thinking that I was cheating on you, it's fine, Luke! I mean, it kinda seemed like that, right? From how long we were apart, that is. But that's totally okay, Luke! I totally get i-"

The rest of his sentence was silenced as Lukas' lips pressed against his in an attempt to shut him up. "No, you idiot. I...I'm apologizing for that time...I said those things...and broke the picture…" Lukas stroked Mathias's cheek with one hand. "...and threw my ring away. I'm sorry."

Mathias cracked a grin as he said this, an expression of pure happiness had appeared, the built-up wear of grim paint washing away from his face, brightening the room by several hundred notches. "Luke…" He returned Lukas' favor, meshing his lips with the Norwegians gently. The air around them filled with the fact that there was finally closure, finally this was over. "...I love you."

Lukas' lips, slowly, _slowly_ inched up on the corners, the expression that had been frozen in time by the click of a camera now shown, alive, on him now. "I...I love you, too."

This time, they both leaned forward into their kiss. Warmth began to swell through their bodies, smiles stained their chapped lips.

This time, Mathias coaxed the ring from Lukas' fingers. He took Lukas' left hand in his right, and slowly slid the piece of dark blue and silver promises down the Norwegian's ring finger.

* * *

 **A/N: Also Lukas probably needed like a hug or something eariler. And finally a round of appluase for Eliza who was able to get the idiots home and talk about things without meaning to.*for faen: dammit in Norwegian :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! Happy New Year, and Christmas, and anything else we missed. We are super sorry for taking so long to update seeing that it's been about 3 months. This is a shoter chapter, but it will give you some more insight to Leon. We hope you enjoy this chapter of HVPD!**

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Leon knew the answer, the most cliché answer. He loved that purple eyed, platinum haired ex-cop.

Well...running out was _not_ a good idea.

He should've never thought that he could've made it through those doors and out of the parking lot without getting jumped by the burly Spanish man.

So now he was here, in Emil's office, strapped down to a chair after being berated by Elizabeta.

"You're not going to go on the case today, Wang," she crossed her arms. "You'll be able to soon, but not now. Not yet."

There was no way he was going to go through a crap ton of photos again, no way in hell. Unfortunately, it was something worse.

After Elizabeta had left, Leon slammed his head against the computer monitor resting on the cubicle wall in front of him. "Why. Can't. I. Go. On. The. Case. Already?!" Each word was exemplified by a resounding _thunk_ on the head with each head-to-monitor impact he received.

There was a stack of papers stacked up inside a yellow manilla folder, with "Stolen Steilsson" written on the cover with black permanent marker. Everything concerning the case was inside; copies of interrogation reports, papers on evidence recovered at the scene of the crime.

Honestly, he wasn't focused on paperwork at all. He took this as a time to think. He had been so overwhelmed last night, what with finding Emil's hidden message in the dust and all.

Emil.

That name still clawed at his insides. He knew that he was close to finding him.

So close…

How long has it been now? How long has he and Emil had crossed that line bordering friendship and something else?

Two weeks, three weeks?

If that was so, how could he feel so...so connected, as if Emil was the very lifeline he absolutely _had_ to hang onto?

He let his eyes fall and scan the documents encased in the manilla folder blankly, his mind was off wandering into an entirely different domain.

It scared him in some ways that Emil had taken such a large chunk out of his life. Well, that would be an exaggeration. That defiant frown and that snarky attitude had disappeared from Leon's thoughts up until Lukas and Mathias had reintroduced him to his lover. Ha. So much for first impressions.

Kiku had always said that a red string would connect you to your destined lover. If that was true, was Emil at the end of his string? Was Emil just another boy destined to another? Leon shook his head clear of his wandering thoughts. If he kept thinking like this, he was never going to find Emil.

"I'm going to find you, Ice; just give me a sign."

-Six Hours Later-

There was nothing. Nothing. Leon couldn't concentrate on anything that wasn't his drifting thoughts, and the documents he received were completely useless. Not to say that he didn't find anything useful on them, of course, because he did find some information regarding Emil's next known whereabouts.

Leon was sifting through the last few pages of an interrogation report when the door to his (and Emil's) cubicle flew open.

"Hola, Leon! How are you doing?" There stood Antonio, his arms full of papers and folders.

"There's barely anything in here I can work with, Toni. I have several theories on where Emil is located, but none of them make sense. I don't think that the Vrede en Liefde is holding Emil in the Asian Sector; so unless you have any other ideas on where he's being hidden, I seriously doubt we're getting anywhere."

Antonio's bright green eyes sparkled, a grin inching its way onto his lips. "I'm glad you feel that way, then. Lovi and I found some more information that you should look into." A beige folder, similar to the one Leon was already studying, was pressed onto the desk, spilling several packets of papers out of its stomach.

"And another thing to suggest, if I may." Antonio drummed his fingers on the door. "I would look into the criminal's' background. I strongly believe that you will find something that you'll find interesting." The glint in the Spaniard's eyes never vanished. The door clicked shut as he left Leon to his workload.

He eyed the new folder suspiciously. "New information, huh?" He took the first document out.

 _Get your fortune cookies together_. -Lovino

Leon narrowed his amber eyes and turned the page. "Don't tell me you guys are kidding around…"

 _Lovi and I found something that might peak your interest. Elizabeta has the original copy of this, so we were lucky to create a copy beforehand. We hope this proves to be of some help!_

 _Evidence Report_

 _XX XX, XXXX_

 _At about XX:XX at the scene of the crime, traces of L'amour de la Baguette Parfum were found on the diner floor, as well as on several crates. The trail of perfume led to an envelope filled with various addresses, which was doused with the same perfume._

 _L'amour de la Baguette is an expensive perfume imported from France. No suspect has been identified yet that has been connected to the evidence._

Leon smirked as his eyes read "yet." His fingers tapped away at his keyboard, the monitor listing results on an all-too-familiar name:

Francis Bonnefoy.

"I only know of one person that uses perfume like that…"

Click.

 **May 30, XXXX**

 _French Chef Francis Bonnefoy's Wife Dies Suddenly:_

 _Francis Bonnefoy, a world renowned French Chef, has faced a terrible tragedy today. His wife, Jehanne D'Arc, also known as Joan, has passed away at the tender age of 19._

 _As said by officials, Joan died in an almost brutal way that hasn't been done since ages ago. According to criminal experts of the HVPD, Francis Bonnefoy's wife was tied to a wooden stake placed upon a blanket of fire-proof fabric and set aflame. The source of the flame was most likely placed on her feet and the fire made its way upwards. Her ashes were found neatly arranged outside of the stake, forming the letters I.B. Francis was thoroughly shocked upon noticing his beloved's death, and he hasn't been answering any reporters' questions about the incident. The HVPD predicts that the person most likely responsible for Mrs. Bonnefoy's death is Ivan Braginsky, the notorious Russian assassin within the HetaliaVille borders, but Mr. Braginsky has sworn himself into the life of education as an elementary school teacher and says he "does not pursue the path of murder anymore."_

 _It is an unjust shame that Joan has been murdered, and speaking as the staff of the Hetalia Ville Gazette, we hope her to be at peace._

"That's a motive if I ever saw one." Leon laughed humorlessly.

But a motive for what, exactly?

Leon checked the time-9:48. The moon was smiling brightly out of the small window next to the cubicle, seeming to act as a catalyst for Leon's exhaustion. A small yawn escaped Leon's lips. He felt like his small, child-like self again, with Big Brother Yao tying his once-long hair up into a neat ponytail, his fingers tugging at his follicles in a relaxing motion that brought his eyes drooping. He could hear a younger Kiku mumbling Japanese as he fed Pochi. Just the mere thought of those evenings could bring Leon to sleep.

And so Leon fell into a deep slumber.

-linebreaklinebreaklinebreakherewegoherewegohahahaahahalinebreak-

"Leon...Leon wake up."

"Unh…" Golden eyes blinked open, a pair of amethyst eyes stared back.

"I'm guessing you're not an early waker."

Emil.

"Ice!" His hand reached out desperately to hold the owner of that voice, that beautiful boy he knew couldn't be here. He touched nothing.

"Have you been doubting us? Are you giving up?"

Leon frowned. "No! No, of course not!"

"You should just stop looking now. There's no hope for me. I'm probably already dead."

"No! Stop this! I'm not giving up, not ever."

"Why?"

Leon blinked. _Why?_ Well, this was an awfully self-explanatory question.

Why? Why was he still searching for Emil?

"Well...I love you, obviously." That's the answer, right?

"And why is that?" Emil asked.

Leon wanted to say something along the mushy lines of _"You're my world, my everything. I devoted all of myself to you,"_ and all of that cheesy crap, but he choked the urge down. "Because I just do. Isn't that enough?"

"I thought that you would've said something a lot cheesier. At least you would've been honest to yourself."

Well, ouch. "Well...I, like...feel something for you, and I don't want that to go away… I guess."

"Listen, Ice, this dream is turning awfully weird, but I know that I love you and that's enough for me to know. So if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to wake up."

And so he did.

-linebreaklinebreaklinebreakblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah-

Leon was exhausted with staring at the computer screen all day. Since waking up from his _delightful_ nap, nothing else had come up interesting about these crooks or Emil's current destination. He didn't bother to check what time it was, all he knew was that it was late and his was tired. He still had much to figure out about Francis and Daan, and Ice was still out there counting on him.

"Damn it all, I'm, like, outta here." No, he wasn't giving up, he was just frustrated and in dire need for some sleep.

He exited the station with bloodshot eyes, a small yawn forming on his lips as he stepped his foot down on his car's accelerator. The ride home was less than eventful, save for his slight steering trouble as he felt his eyes droop. His fingers loosened their hold on the wheel, nearly causing his (cousin's) car to swerve into a streetlight.

As he pulled up onto his driveway, he thought he caught a glimpse of a head of silver hair at his window. His logical conscience was telling him, "don't be stupid. There is no way Emil can run from the hands of the Vrede en Liefde and break into your house." His tired and delusional (at the moment) side nearly screamed out, "DID YOU SEE THAT? THERE, AT THE WINDOW! THERE'S, LIKE, SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW RIGHT-OFF-THE-BAT!"

Leon stepped out and headed inside. He nearly went into his "Predator" position when three pairs of bronze eyes jumped him.

"DÌDÌ! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE LAST FORTY EIGHT HOURS?!" His older brother had tears in his eyes, his arms wound around him tightly.

"I was at the police station, teacher. No need to worry."

Kiku, who had been standing next to him instead of hugging him, smiled at him politely. "We hope you don't overwork yourself, Li-san. It is one thing to be passionate about your job, but it is another thing to be obsessed with it."

"Did you find anything, aru? Or did you jump out of the car for nothing?" Yao crossed his arms and a small frown etched it's way to his lips.

"I did find something, I promise. I taught Em something, like, two or three weeks ago, and uh, he signaled me with that."

His older brother's frown deepened, eyebrow raised suspiciously. "And what exactly is it that you taught him?"

"Chinese."

Yao's eyebrows inched up just a smidge upon hearing that. _"What?"_

Leon turned his head away, and ran his long fingers through his messy hair. "Yeah...um...it's nothing, really."

"Hmph," Yao frowned. "Remember to be careful, dìdì. Those bad European people will do bad Western things to you if they catch you, aru."

Leon nodded curtly. "I know that, but I was trying to look for Emil."

Yao frowned. "Leon, you know that being involved in this case is very dangerous. You already had yourself nearly killed once, who knows what might happen again, aru!"

"Teacher, I can handle this. I need to find Emil." Leon stared down at his toes. "I...I love him, gègè."

Everyone quieted, and Leon found himself more embarrassed than before. Kiku was staring down at his ring, as if remembering the day he told his family about a certain Greek man.

"I love Emil, teacher. I have to find him before it's, like, too late." Leon felt his heart warm up to the sensation of saying those first words. "I love him."

Yao sighed, a resigned expression playing on his visage. "Stupid little brothers growing up too fast, aru…" He mumbled under his breath. "Get some rest, Leon. You can look for Emil some more tomorrow."

Leon was more than happy to oblige, the heavy weight of exhaustion burdening him once more as he trudged his way to his room. He didn't even bother to change his clothes; instead, he covered his body under the thick comforters of his bed, cold from the lack of use, and turned his lamp off.

"Hey, Emil…wherever you are..." Leon closed his eyes. "Just wanted to tell you that I love you. You're sarcastic and easy to tease, but I love you for that. That first day we met, I thought you were, like, an angel or something. Your eyes...your eyes are beautiful, I can see them, even now. And your hair...if I turn my head to the spot next to me, I can see your glowing silver head. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick, by the way. Thank you for being my angel. It's my turn to return the favor."

He didn't care if Yao or the others had heard his declaration. It didn't matter how cheesy those words were. This was why he loved Emil, and it was time he showed him how much he loved the other.

As he began to fall into the gentle caresses of sleep, a small message chime sounded from his back pocket. Leon, startled, threw the blankets off of him and patted his back pockets in slight confusion. His phone reflected light onto all sides of his room, the eye piercing glow drew a frown to Leon's face.

11:20 pm

 **From: Lovino Vargas**

 **To: Leon Wang**

 **We found another one of Emil's messages.**

Attached to the text message was a picture of a note, neat calligraphy scrawled onto the paper.

 _Dearest Leon,_

 _I am alright. Do not worry yourself too much over me, I will be here waiting for you. This is the final destination that the Vrede en Liefde is taking. They will be buying a haul of imported drugs west of town, inside the worn down warehouse._

 _With sincerest love,_

 _Emil_

There was two things Leon was sure of. One; Emil was incapable of writing that neatly, and in situation, writing at all would probably a long shot. Two; there were dozens of worn down warehouses west of Hetalia Ville, therefore that letter was extremely vague. Nonetheless, useful information had been shared with him, and Leon intended to use it.

11:33 pm

 **From: Leon Wang**

 **To: Lovino Vargas**

 **That note isn't from Ice.**

11:34 pm

 **From: Lovino Vargas**

 **To: Leon Wang**

 **What do you mean?**

11:36 pm

 **From: Leon Wang**

 **To: Lovino Vargas**

 **What does the note smell like?**

11:38 pm

 **From: Lovino Vargas**

 **To: Leon Wang**

 **Um...like paper?**

11:39 pm

 **From: Lovino Vargas**

 **To: Leon Wang**

 **Tonio and I will run some tests on this note then. Get some sleep, we will give you our findings tomorrow.**

11:39 pm

 **From: Leon Wang**

 **To: Lovino Vargas**

 **Okay.**

Leon powered off his phone and set it on the bedside table next to him. He let his head fall to his pillow, and found himself in sleep's deepest clutches.


End file.
